Intellectual property rights

Perplexity disputes copyright allegations

Perplexity has vowed to contest the copyright infringement claims filed by Dow Jones and the New York Post. The California-based AI company denied the accusations in a blog post, calling them misleading. News Corp, owner of both media entities, launched the lawsuit on Monday, accusing Perplexity of extensive illegal copying of its content.

The conflict began after the two publishers allegedly contacted Perplexity in July with concerns over unauthorised use of their work, proposing a licensing agreement. According to Perplexity, the startup replied the same day, but the media companies decided to move forward with legal action instead of continuing discussions.

CEO Aravind Srinivas expressed his surprise over the lawsuit at the WSJ Tech Live event on Wednesday, noting the company had hoped for dialogue instead. He emphasised Perplexity’s commitment to defending itself against what it considers an unwarranted attack.

Perplexity is challenging Google’s dominance in the search engine market by providing summarised information from trusted sources directly through its platform. The case reflects ongoing tensions between publishers and tech firms over the use of copyrighted content for AI development.

Google unveils open-source watermark for AI text

Google has released SynthID Text, a watermarking tool designed to help developers identify AI-generated content. Available for free on platforms like Hugging Face and Google’s Responsible GenAI Toolkit, this open-source technology aims to improve transparency around AI-written text. It works by embedding subtle patterns into the token distribution of text generated by AI models without affecting the quality or speed of the output.

SynthID Text has been integrated with Google’s Gemini models since earlier this year. While it can detect text that has been paraphrased or modified, the tool does have limitations, particularly with shorter text, factual responses, and content translated from other languages. Google acknowledges that its watermarking technique may struggle with these formats but emphasises the tool’s overall benefits.

As the demand for AI-generated content grows, so does the need for reliable detection methods. Countries like China are already mandating watermarking of AI-produced material, and similar regulations are being considered in US, California. The urgency is clear, with predictions that AI-generated content could dominate 90% of online text by 2026, creating new challenges in combating misinformation and fraud.

Meta prevails in shareholder child safety lawsuit

Meta Platforms and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, successfully defended against a lawsuit claiming the company misled shareholders about child safety on Facebook and Instagram. A US federal judge dismissed the case on Tuesday.

Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the plaintiff, Matt Eisner, failed to demonstrate that shareholders experienced financial harm due to Meta’s disclosures. He stated that federal law does not require companies to reveal all decisions regarding child safety measures or focus on their shortcomings.

Eisner had sought to delay Meta’s 2024 annual meeting and void its election results unless the company revised its proxy statement. However, the judge emphasised that many of Meta’s commitments in its proxy materials were aspirational and not legally binding. His dismissal, issued with prejudice, prevents Eisner from filing the same case again.

Meta still faces legal challenges from state attorneys general and hundreds of lawsuits from children, parents, and schools, accusing the company of fostering social media addiction. Other platforms, such as TikTok and Snapchat, also confront similar legal actions.

Thousands of artists protest AI’s unlicensed use of their work

Thousands of creatives, including Kevin Bacon, Thom Yorke, and Julianne Moore, have signed a petition opposing the unlicensed use of their work to train AI. The 11,500 signatories believe that such practices threaten their livelihoods and call for better protection of creative content.

The petition argues that using creative works without permission for AI development is an ‘unjust threat’ to the people behind those works. Signatories from various industries, including musicians, writers, and actors, are voicing concerns over how their work is being used by AI companies.

British composer Ed Newton-Rex, who organised the petition, has spoken out against AI companies, accusing them of ‘dehumanising’ art by treating it as mere ‘training data’. He highlighted the growing concerns among creatives about how AI may undermine their rights and income.

The United Kingdom government is currently exploring new regulations to address the issue, including a potential ‘opt out’ model for AI data scraping, as lawmakers look for ways to protect creative content in the digital age.

AI company Perplexity faces lawsuit from Dow Jones and New York Post

Dow Jones and the New York Post have taken legal action against AI startup Perplexity AI, accusing the company of unlawfully copying their copyrighted content. The lawsuit is part of a wider dispute between publishers and tech companies over the use of news articles and other content without permission to train and operate AI systems.

Perplexity AI, which aims to disrupt the search engine market, assembles information from websites it deems authoritative and presents AI-generated summaries. Publishers claim that Perplexity bypasses their websites, depriving them of advertising and subscription revenue, and undermines the work of journalists.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, argues that Perplexity’s AI generates answers based on a vast database of news articles, often copying content verbatim. News Corp, owner of Dow Jones and the New York Post, is asking the court to block Perplexity’s use of its articles and to destroy any databases containing copyrighted material.

Perplexity has also faced allegations from other media organisations, including Forbes and Wired. While the company has introduced a revenue-sharing programme with some publishers, many news outlets continue to resist, seeking stronger legal protections for their content.

Blade Runner producer takes legal action over AI image use

Alcon Entertainment, the producer behind Blade Runner 2049, has filed a lawsuit against Tesla and Warner Bros, accusing them of misusing AI-generated images that resemble scenes from the movie to promote Tesla’s new autonomous cybercab. Filed in California, the lawsuit alleges violations of US copyright law and claims Tesla falsely implied a partnership with Alcon through the use of the imagery.

Alcon stated that it had rejected Warner Bros’ request to use official Blade Runner images for Tesla’s cybercab event on October 10. Despite this, Tesla allegedly proceeded with AI-created visuals that mirrored the film’s style. Alcon is concerned this could confuse its brand partners, especially ahead of its upcoming Blade Runner 2099 series for Amazon Prime.

Though no specific damages were mentioned, Alcon emphasized that it has invested hundreds of millions in the Blade Runner brand and argued that Tesla’s actions had caused substantial financial harm.

AI could help Alex Van Halen finish unreleased songs

Alex Van Halen is exploring AI to complete unreleased Van Halen music left unfinished by his late brother Eddie. The drummer revealed that while the band has a vault of material, many tracks are incomplete and lack vocals. He hopes AI can analyse Eddie’s guitar style to generate new solos.

Alex has reached out to OpenAI, seeking their help in recreating his brother’s signature playing patterns. He envisions using AI-generated guitar parts alongside vocals from Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, despite not having spoken to the singer in decades. Completing the project could take years.

Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in 2020, left a significant legacy in rock music. His son Wolfgang, who toured with Van Halen, has said there is no chance of a reunion, preferring not to play the band’s music without his father.

AI is already playing a role in the music industry. Randy Travis, who lost his singing ability after a stroke, recently released a song with AI-generated vocals, recreating his voice through advanced technology. The success of that project offers hope for similar ventures, including Alex’s plans for Van Halen’s unfinished work.

South Korea targets stronger AI capabilities through cloud expansion

South Korea plans to accelerate the growth of its private cloud industry to enhance competitiveness in AI. The Ministry of Science and ICT outlined a strategy to double the local cloud market to 10 trillion won (£6 billion) by 2027 through partnerships with global companies.

The government acknowledged that South Korea trails over a year behind global cloud leaders, with underdeveloped AI infrastructure. Key initiatives include encouraging the use of private cloud systems across public sectors, such as education and defence, and easing regulations to facilitate the transition. Incentives such as expanded tax benefits are also planned for AI and cloud enterprises.

A national AI computing centre with supercomputer capabilities will be established to further bolster infrastructure. In addition, an AI innovation fund will launch with an initial government investment of 45 billion won (£27 million) in 2025, encouraging private-sector contributions to the cloud ecosystem’s growth.

Plans are also underway for an AI safety research institute under the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. This initiative follows Seoul’s AI safety summit earlier this year, where global leaders agreed on collaborative efforts to promote safe and inclusive AI development.

News Corp sues AI firm Perplexity over copyright violations

News Corp, the media giant behind outlets like The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, has filed a lawsuit against the AI search engine Perplexity, accusing the company of infringing on its copyrighted content. According to the lawsuit, Perplexity allegedly copies and summarises large quantities of News Corp’s articles, analyses, and opinions without permission, potentially diverting revenue from the original publishers. The AI startup, which positions itself as a tool to help users ‘skip the links’ to full articles, is claimed to have harmed the financial interests of news outlets by discouraging users from visiting the sources.

The lawsuit goes beyond accusations of content scraping, stating that Perplexity has sometimes reproduced material verbatim and falsely attributed facts or even invented news stories under News Corp’s name. News Corp claims it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity in July but received no response, prompting the legal action. Perplexity has also faced similar accusations from other major publications like Wired, Forbes, and The New York Times, with concerns over scraping content, bypassing paywalls, and plagiarism.

In the lawsuit, News Corp asks the court to order Perplexity to stop using its content without authorisation and destroy any databases containing its works. CEO Robert Thomson condemned Perplexity’s practices as abusing intellectual property that harms journalists and content creators. Thomson did, however, commend other companies like OpenAI, which have made deals with News Corp and other outlets to use their content for AI training legally.

Perplexity has yet to comment on the lawsuit, though it has started paying some publishers, including Time and Fortune, for the use of their content. As the legal battle unfolds, the case highlights growing tensions between traditional media companies and AI platforms over the use of copyrighted material.

Massachusetts parents sue school over AI use dispute

The parents of a Massachusetts high school senior are suing Hingham High School and its district after their son received a “D” grade and detention for using AI in a social studies project. Jennifer and Dale Harris, the plaintiffs, argue that their son was unfairly punished, as there was no rule in the school’s handbook prohibiting AI use at the time. They claim the grade has impacted his eligibility for the National Honor Society and his applications to top-tier universities like Stanford and MIT.

The lawsuit, filed in Plymouth County District Court, alleges the school’s actions could cause “irreparable harm” to the student’s academic future. Jennifer Harris stated that their son’s use of AI should not be considered cheating, arguing that AI-generated content belongs to the creator. The school, however, classified it as plagiarism. The family’s lawyer, Peter Farrell, contends that there’s widespread information supporting their view that using AI isn’t plagiarism.

The Harrises are seeking to have their son’s grade changed and his academic record cleared. They emphasised that while they can’t reverse past punishments like detention, the school can still adjust his grade and confirm that he did not cheat. Hingham Public Schools has not commented on the ongoing litigation.