3 Count: Privacy vs. Piracy

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1: US Newspapers Sue OpenAI for Copyright Infringement Over AI Training

First off today, Blake Brittain at Reuters reports that a group of newspapers, including the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune, have filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI.

The eight papers are all owned by Alden Global Capital’s MediaNewsGroup. The lawsuit, which was filed in New York, alleges that the companies used millions of their articles to train AI products, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s CoPilot. In addition to alleging copyright infringement, the lawsuit also claims that the AI systems “hallucinate” articles that are attributed to the papers, harming their reputation.

The lawsuit is similar to another one filed by The New York Times and smaller publications. That lawsuit was also filed in New York and raised many of the same issues. To date, rightsholders have filed over 20 lawsuits against AI companies in various courts.

2: CJEU Gives File-Sharer Surveillance & Data Retention a Green Light

Next up today, Andy Maxwell at Torrentfreak writes that the European Union’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), has ruled in favor of France’s Hadopi anti-piracy scheme, paving the way for mass surveillance to deter online piracy.

Hadopi is an anti-piracy scheme that uses a “graduated response” system. It detects alleged pirate activity on local ISPs and then sends warning letters to infringers. If enough warnings accumulate, the system can impose fines or other sanctions. Digital rights groups had hoped to overturn the system, saying that it violated privacy and amounts to mass surveillance for copyright issues.

However, the CJEU has sided with France, saying nothing in EU law precludes member states from operating a Hadopi-like system. Specifically, the CJEU says that the process is not indiscriminate and that there is enough protection separating IP addresses from personal information, meaning that the system does not violate EU law. However, others are concerned that this is the “defacto end to online anonymity.”

3: Ken Goldin and Netflix Defeat ‘King of Collectibles’ Copyright Case

Finally today, Michael McCann at Sportico reports that a judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Netflix, Golid Auctions and Ken Goldin over the TV show King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch.

The lawsuit was filed by former Survivor contestant Gervase Peterson. Peterson claimed that the three stole his idea for a reality show about Goldin and his sports memorabilia company. He claimed to have developed a script/screenplay for a series named The Goldin Boys in 2019 and pitched the idea to Goldin.

That project did not move forward. However, Goldin later worked with Netflix to produce a similar series. This prompted Peterson’s lawsuit. However, the judge dismissed the case, stating that the elements similar between the two shows are scènes à faire and can’t be protected by copyright. He said that such elements are common in reality shows, making such arguments very difficult.

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