The Perils of ‘Free’ Information — Jonathan Barnett writes, “In my recent book The Big Steal, … I show that tech platforms have sought to weaken IP rights to reduce the costs of securing content and tech assets, which are then monetized within a portfolio of complementary products and services. While this strategy may reduce costs for users in the short term, it does not align with the public’s interest in preserving a knowledge ecosystem that can sustain technological and creative innovation over the long term. A singular focus on ‘free stuff’ distorts innovation markets by favoring platform-based and other integrated business models, impeding entry by ‘stand alone’ innovators in tech and creative markets, and diverting investment from economically and geopolitically critical industries that rely on robust IP protections. Contrary to settled expectations, setting information ‘free’ can yield outcomes that are bad for both innovation and competition.”
US Court of Appeal confirms human authorship requirement, including for AI — “In conclusion, the last word on AI-assisted works is still a long time away from being spelled out. Hopefully, future decisions will help shed light, not on the (now) irrelevant question of whether only humans can generally be regarded as authors, but rather on the key issue of what authorship and originality entail. And this is a question that goes to the core of copyright law, well before, well beyond and well after AI.”
Mariah Carey wins copyright case over Christmas hit — “In a ruling issued on Wednesday, a US judge rejected the allegations of songwriter Adam Stone, who released a song with the same name in 1989. He accused Carey of exploiting his ‘popularity’ and ‘style’. Mr Stone, who performs under the name Vince Vance, was claiming at least $20m (£16m) in damages. But in her ruling, Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani cited expert testimony saying the two songs simply shared ‘Christmas song clichés’ that were common to several earlier hits.”
AAP Urges White House to Prioritize Copyright in AI Action Plan — “The AAP’s involvement in AI policy discussions comes at a crucial time for the publishing industry, with publishers increasingly concerned about unauthorized use of their intellectual property for AI training purposes while simultaneously exploring ways to incorporate AI tools into their own operations. There are currently dozens of lawsuits seeking to remedy the tech industry’s theft of copywritten material and establish precedent to protect the publishing industry going forward.”
Amazon is blundering into an AI copyright nightmare — “Music, like all worthwhile art, is about people. If more people want to make music, they can — by learning how to play an instrument or sing. One of the benefits of learning an instrument is that it deepens your appreciation; suddenly you can hear a song’s time signature or notice the difference in feel between keys. You don’t even have to be very good to make music people enjoy — that’s why God created punk!”