On Monday last week, oral arguments were presented in cross-motions for summary judgment in Hachette et al. v. Internet Archive, and by end-of-business Friday, the court delivered its opinion thoroughly rejecting IA’s fair use defense. Although many of us watching this case felt a little whiplash Friday evening, the speed with which the court responded can perhaps be explained by ...
As most copyright watchers already know, two lawsuits were filed at the start of the new year against AI visual works companies. In the U.S., a class-action was filed by visual artists against DeviantArt, Midjourney, and Stability AI; and in the UK, Getty Images is suing Stability AI. Both cases allege infringing use of large volumes of protected works fed ...
The Supreme Court on October 12th heard oral arguments in Andy Warhol Foundation (AWF) v. Lynn Goldsmith, and presumably every copyright nerd (pro and con) was listening. In general, I would describe the Court as consistent—all justices focused on the narrow question presented with very little discussion outside those lines. The question, which badly needs an answer, is this: What ...
Imagine someone getting caught shoplifting while wearing a tee shirt that says: “I have no intention of committing petty larceny.” Right? So, when the store presses charges, the defendant’s attorney is probably not going to say, “But the tee shirt your honor! Did you read the tee shirt?” It’s not a perfect analogy. But this parable of the absurd is ...
Among the amici who filed briefs in Hachette v. Internet Archive is former law professor and library director Michelle Wu, who, as the brief states, “…is recognized by many as the originator of the legal theory underlying controlled digital lending (“CDL”) ….” With her brief, Wu seeks to defend CDL as a doctrine and asks the court to limit its ...
