As new technology emerges, so do new cases. The impact of AI has barely been scratched in the legal world, but courts are already grappling with countlessly complex questions about IP, copyright, and fair use cases.
One recent example is the Anthropic copyright case. If you need a refresher, here’s a quick summary.
What is the Anthropic copyright case?
- U.S. authors filed a lawsuit against Amazon-backed AI company Anthropic for using millions of pirated, copyrighted books to train its AI assistant Claude.
- The judge ruled that fair use allowed Anthropic to legally use authors’ work without permission to train AI, but that saving the pirated works to its central library violated copyright law.
- Anthropic offered a settlement of $1.5 billion to the authors involved (about $3,000 per book plus interest) making this the largest publicly reported copyright settlement in history.
Why does the Anthropic case matter for IP law?
While the Anthropic settlement may not set an official legal precedent, it sends a message against downloading and storing pirated works. As Andrea Bartz, one of the plaintiffs in the case, points out, it’s a good test case for future AI lawsuits, and a stress test of legal systems that were never intended to solve AI-related problems.
But in the end, the case asks more questions than it answers. The absence of a clear ruling could complicate future cases for companies like Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Eventually, the question may need to be settled in a Supreme Court ruling. But until it does, AI and fair use will remain complicated.
In cases like this, a strong AI expert witness is a must.
How an expert witness lends clarity in AI law
AI and its ramifications for IP and copyrights is an entirely new category of legal expertise, with high stakes that include billions of dollars in liability. While Anthropic can weather the $1.5 billion – it represents less than 1% of the company’s $183 billion valuation – that number could bring a swift end to a smaller company, not to mention set their AI development back by lightyears.
Without a clear legal precedent in many instances, expert witnesses must do more than simply help defend a client’s position. They must clarify concepts like bias, risk, and data integrity, explain how models consume data, where the LLMs get their data, what kinds of permissions and law cover the data, and what the developers of the models say they’re doing versus what the algorithms are actually doing.
The tip of the spear: Other IP and copyright infringement cases in the court system
While Bartz v. Anthropic is considered a landmark case, several other high profile cases are working their way through the courts and the settlement process:
- The New York Times v. Microsoft and OpenAI: one of the most high-profile and avidly watched cases, it’s NYT vs the founders of ChatGPT.
- The Authors Guild, et al. v. OpenAI: a class-action lawsuit of multiple authors, again versus the founders of ChatGPT.
- UMG Recordings v. Suno: Major record labels against the AI music generation service.
- UMG Recordings v. Udio: Same as above, record labels against an AI music service.
- Disney and Universal v. Midjourney: Known for its fierce IP protection, Disney and Universal team up against the AI image generator Midjourney.
- Getty Images v. Stability AI and Midjourney: The grand dame of photography, Getty Images against Stability AI and Midjourney
- Dow Jones & Co, et al. v. Perplexity AI: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post suing the AI search company Perplexity AI.
- Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc.: The court granted Meta’s motion for summary judgment but did not rule out all liability.
- Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence: A judge ruled that Ross Intelligence, an AI-powered legal research platform, is liable for copyright infringement; a jury will determine damages.
While this new, still developing field waits for court rulings, and government regulations and legislation, to catch up, expert witnesses will play an essential role in helping to define the legal and moral guidelines and boundaries. In a situation like this, a strong expert witness can make or break your case—and the defending company. For plaintiffs, it could mean losing control over property they spent years laboring to create, as well as compromised value to their descendants. With the stakes so high, you’ll want to choose carefully.
AP Expert Group matches you with expert witnesses at the leading edge of AI, copyright, and IP
At AP Expert Group, we’re trusted by attorneys across the US and internationally to find witnesses in new sectors. We use our finely honed research skills to quickly locate up-and-coming AI professionals outside of traditional networks and directories.
We take the extra steps required to find the exact right expert for your case. We won’t deliver generalist experts—they’re not going to help you win your case. When you need an expert witness, we dig down to the very specific category and use case. Not just AI, but LLMs. Not just literary copyright when your case hinges on audiovisual content.
And because these cases are hyper complex, those extra steps include assessing an expert witness’ ability to clearly explain abstract and complicated information in a high-pressure setting.
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