In the legal field of the United States, copyright disputes related to artificial intelligence (AI) are intensifying. Recently, Thomson Reuters achieved a preliminary victory in this copyright battle. The company sued the now-defunct legal research firm Ross Intelligence in 2020, accusing it of using materials from Thomson Reuters' legal platform Westlaw to train its AI model without authorization.
According to the ruling by Judge Stephanos Bibas of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Ross Intelligence did not have the right to use Thomson Reuters' content on its platform. This ruling further clarifies that under U.S. copyright law, companies cannot use a competitor's intellectual property without permission. Bibas stated in his summary judgment, "Any possible defense by Ross Intelligence is baseless," and ruled in favor of Thomson Reuters regarding the issue of "fair use."
"Fair use" is a principle in U.S. law that allows limited use of copyrighted material, typically for teaching, research, or transformation of copyrighted works. However, with the rapid development of AI technology, an increasing number of copyright disputes have emerged, involving lawsuits from many authors, visual artists, and music labels, all accusing tech companies of using a large amount of human-created works without authorization while training AI chatbots.
Thomson Reuters' victory is not an isolated case. As technology continues to advance, developers have unknowingly crossed the boundaries of copyright law. Notable authors such as John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, and George R. R. Martin, the novelist behind "Game of Thrones," have also filed copyright infringement lawsuits against OpenAI and its commercial partner Microsoft. At the same time, media organizations like The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Mother Jones have also pursued similar legal actions.
As this copyright war evolves, the debate over the use of AI in the realm of copyright continues. The challenge of balancing innovation and copyright protection will be a pressing issue for both the legal and tech communities in the future.
