copyright

Commentary drawing on the history of Black musical pioneers such as Ma Rainey, whose recordings were exploited by labels, argues that today's generative AI revives a century-old dispute over who owns and profits from an artist's voice and likeness. Writers say new technology amplifies old patterns of exploitation, and the piece is being shared amid ongoing debates over AI training on musicians' work and new rules on voice replication consent.

British celebrities have won their lobbying campaign against AI companies seeking free use of creative work, and are now cautioning Australia against adopting similar exemptions. Their intervention signals that artists' pressure can shape government policy on AI and copyright, with the UK debate serving as a warning for other countries weighing tech-friendly rules that would let firms train models on creative work without payment.

A Swedish archaeologist reports a conversation with an amateur fiction translator who was startled to learn that using machine translation for anything beyond checking individual words means he cannot put his name on the finished translation. Under most publishers' rules and copyright frameworks, such work is ineligible for translator credit and protections, since authorship is reserved for human translation.

AI music startup Suno has released a new tool that automatically adds musical accompaniment to spoken audio, turning narration, podcasts or voice recordings into songs or scored tracks. The launch, reported by Bloomberg and The Business Times, is drawing attention for how far generative music tools have moved beyond text prompts into processing existing audio. Users and industry watchers are discussing its potential for creators and the ongoing copyright questions around AI-generated music.

A new discussion examines the use of artificial intelligence tools to decompile video games, covering what the technology can currently achieve, its future potential, and the legal questions around copyright and reverse engineering. The piece reflects growing interest in whether AI can accelerate the fan-driven preservation of older games, and where the practice crosses legal lines.

Pope Leo XIV has spoken out against AI-generated art, signalling disapproval of the technology's growing role in creative work. The remarks, reported by TechCrunch, are drawing attention because they come from a prominent religious leader weighing in on one of today's most contested technology debates, joining wider arguments over copyright, authenticity and the value of human creativity.

Academics warn that video games are becoming increasingly difficult, and in some cases impossible, to preserve for future study and cultural memory. The problems cited in wider coverage of the issue include server-dependent online games, digital-only releases, DRM and copyright restrictions, which mean titles can vanish entirely when publishers shut down services. Researchers are calling for exemptions and better archiving infrastructure so gaming history is not lost.

ClearTunes, a company selling electronics to correctional facilities, marketed a transparent handheld gaming console to prisoners that came loaded with around fifty unlicensed games. The device, sold as a see-through handheld, raises questions about how unlicensed software ended up on products distributed in prisons and who approved the deal.

A French court has ordered hosting provider OVH to block access to two major piracy websites, following a complaint from rights holders. The ruling is seen as a notable move against online copyright infringement, raising questions about hosting platforms' responsibility for content they host and the reach of judicial blocking orders in France.

Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell have joined forces in a billion-dollar intellectual property lawsuit against AI company founders, with song lyrics — not recordings — at the center of the case. Industry observers note that AI companies are facing a fresh wave of legal attacks from rights holders. The suit signals that music publishers are now targeting AI systems trained on or generating copyrighted text.

Axios reports that artificial intelligence is heading into what it calls an existential legal crisis, as courts and regulators grapple with questions the law is not equipped to answer. The piece examines disputes over liability, copyright, and accountability as AI systems spread, and the mounting pressure on lawmakers to clarify who is responsible when AI causes harm.

Nihon Falcom, the Japanese game developer behind the Ys and Trails series, is circulating a live-streamed medley of music tied to Adol Christin, the long-running protagonist of the Ys action RPG franchise. Fans are sharing the stream and discussing the soundtrack, with Falcom's music and its radio programming remaining popular listening among the series' community.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has published a proposal calling on Congress to allow US courts to order the blocking of foreign websites that distribute pirated content. The blog post, titled 'Break the Pirates', argues that current enforcement tools are inadequate against offshore piracy operations. The proposal touches on long-running debates over internet regulation and free expression, and is likely to draw scrutiny from both copyright holders and digital rights advocates.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has rejected a fair use defense in what is being called a landmark copyright case involving AI-powered legal research. The ruling limits how AI companies can rely on fair use when building products on copyrighted legal materials, and is being closely watched as a precedent for the broader wave of AI copyright litigation.

Legal research company ROSS Intelligence says it will petition the US Supreme Court to review a Third Circuit ruling in favor of Thomson Reuters. The case centers on whether ROSS's use of Thomson Reuters' headnotes and key numbering system to train its AI legal research tool constituted copyright infringement, a dispute closely watched across the legal tech industry.

The Pitt News has published an opinion piece exploring fan edits as an art form. The column examines how fans rework existing films, shows and other media into new creations, a practice that has grown hugely online. The piece weighs the creativity involved in fan editing against questions of authorship and copyright.

Anthropic has told an Australian review that AI firms should be able to use locally published content for training unless creators opt out. The proposal puts the company at odds with Australian broadcasters ABC and SBS, who are demanding strict regulations to protect journalism and ensure media organisations are fairly compensated when their work trains AI models.

A newly unsealed court opinion lays out the reasoning behind Thomson Reuters' victory in a closely watched copyright and fair-use lawsuit against an AI company over the use of its legal research content. The ruling is being read as one of the first major judicial assessments of how fair-use doctrine applies to training data for artificial intelligence systems.

German tech news outlet heise+ examines the long-running legal dispute between Kraftwerk and producer Moses Pelham over a two-second sample, asking when sampling can qualify as a permitted 'pastiche' under copyright law without a licence. The piece explains that using others' recordings generally requires rights-holder permission, and outlines the narrow circumstances in which courts allow unlicensed use as parody-style pastiche.

The publishers behind Vogue and Esquire have appealed to Congress to pass legislation preventing AI companies from using their journalism and photography without permission or payment. The plea frames unlicensed scraping of magazine content as theft and adds major media brands to the growing fight over copyright and compensation in the age of generative AI.

The World Intellectual Property Organization has released a European Union Regional Brief, a periodic report covering intellectual property developments across EU member states. The brief is part of WIPO's regular regional reporting on patents, trademarks and copyright policy in the bloc. Beyond the release itself, no further details about its contents or reception are currently available.

British singer Olivia Dean is facing a lawsuit alleging that her song from 'The Art of Loving' copied elements of Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.'s classic 'Just the Two of Us'. The claim, reported by Billboard, puts her widely praised album at the centre of a copyright dispute and has sparked debate about how closely new songs may echo older classics.