Intellectual Property & Technology Law
Authors, publishers sue Google over alleged AI copyright infringement
It also alleges that Google "downloaded web scrapes of virtually the entire internet, including from known pirate sources and from behind legitimate paywalls". It further alleges that Google copied those works without permission to train its AI models and continues to do so, despite those uses allegedly falling outside the scope of existing agreements. The suit claims the company was fully aware of the legal risks, alleging that internal documents warned using books to train AI models was "highly problematic for Google," and could lead to as much as $100bn in fines. "At no point did Google inform authors and publishers that Google was copying their works as source material to develop and train AI models," the suit alleges. "It's an interesting issue that has a lot of complex dimensions, in no small part because it can be hard to prove what was or wasn't in a training corpus."
Three publishers challenge Google over AI copyright infringement
It's the latest in a barrage of efforts to win compensation from AI companies over training materials. Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning and Elsevier are the plaintiff companies and writer Scott Turow is the individual behind this effort . Yet Google has failed to implement effective guardrails. The literary world has made several attempts to make deals with the AI companies that have scraped and trained large language models off of their protected works. In fact, a group including several of the same parties already have a similar class action suit underway against Meta .
Ed Husic says weakening copyright to benefit AI companies would betray Labor party's ethos
Labor MP says'a fair day's pay for a fair day's work' was a founding principle of the ALP as media union calls for tougher new rules on AI use of creative work Husic also urged his colleagues to place stricter rules on the big tech firms or be "doomed to failure". Husic, who has long advocated for a more interventionist approach on AI policy, said big firms like OpenAI and Anthropic should not be left to self-regulate, and that the federal government should be setting strong rules. "If we were to wait for social licence with industry, we wouldn't get emissions reduction. Governments sometimes have to step in," Husic told Sky News on Tuesday. Going down the path of social licence with tech is a path that's sadly doomed to failure, because we tried self-regulation for a couple of decades and found out that it didn't work." The prime minister will deliver a highly anticipated speech in Sydney on Wednesday to address growing concerns around social licence and the necessary policy guardrails for AI, datacentres and Australian intellectual property. We've grown up with the notion of a fair day's pay for a fair day's work - that people should be remunerated fairly for the labour, the effort that they provide. Asked whether he thought his colleagues were doing that, Husic replied: "Obviously, there's a debate that's going on behind the scenes.
The Download: a donor conception cap and world models for AI
Plus: Apple has sued OpenAI for allegedly stealing trade secrets. Ties van der Meer doesn't know how many siblings he has. The 47-year-old was conceived at a private fertility clinic using sperm from an anonymous donor. He eventually tracked down one sibling, but he may have others he'll never find. Other donor-conceived people have found they have tens or even hundreds of them. "It does make you feel a bit mass-produced," said one who discovered they had 25 half-siblings.
AI companies want to water down Australia's copyright laws. Artists are outraged, Labor is split
When Anna Funder stood before a pack of journalists at Parliament House this month, she presented herself not just as a writer but also a "victim of crime". The Stasiland author was using the analogy to illustrate how technology companies have flagrantly "hoovered up" her literary works for their own profit. Authors, artists, musicians and media organisations were last year assured those laws wouldn't be watered down when the federal government ruled out granting a legal exemption for artificial intelligence companies to mine content to train their large language models, which include ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. But continual lobbying from tech giants and a whistleblower's tipoff to the independent senator David Pocock have ignited fears that the Albanese government might go back on its word - even as it continues to insist that it won't. The stoush has exposed splits within Labor about how to respond to AI and raised questions about how far the government should bend - if at all - to big tech to capture the supposed riches of the datacentre boom.
Apple files lawsuit accusing ChatGPT maker OpenAI of stealing trade secrets
Apple has sued OpenAI and two former employees, alleging misappropriation of its trade secrets as the artificial intelligence company seeks to build its own hardware for ChatGPT, a major rupture in a partnership between the iPhone maker and the AI giant. The complaint, filed in a California federal court on Friday, alleges a coordinated effort to steal Apple's confidential information, including product designs, manufacturing processes and supply chain strategies. The lawsuit names Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer, and Tang Yew Tan, a former vice president of product design for the iPhone and Apple Watch, as defendants, along with the OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI Group PBC and io Products. Neither defendant immediately responded to a request for comment. Apple alleged that Liu failed to return a company-issued work laptop and later used an authentication bug to access Apple's internal network, downloading "dozens of Apple's confidential hardware-related files".
Apple sues OpenAI, its employees claiming theft of trade secrets
Image caption, Apple CEO Tim cook is leaving the role later this year. Apple has accused OpenAI of gaining access to valuable inside information through the hiring of its former employees. In a federal lawsuit filed on Friday, Apple sued the artificial intelligence (AI) company, two of its employees, as well as io Products, claiming it has engaged in a pattern of theft of Apple's confidential product development and related work. At least two long-time Apple workers who left the company to join OpenAI allegedly took part in this pattern by, in part, emailing themselves internal Apple information. Drew Pusateri, a spokesman for OpenAI, told the BBC: We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets.
Apple sues OpenAI, alleging artificial intelligence company stole trade secrets
Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Friday alleging the artificial intelligence firm stole company trade secrets in a move to create its own hardware device. The suit claims OpenAI poached Apple employees, coaxing them to hand over confidential material, product designs and other tightly held information. "Recently, significant evidence has emerged suggesting individuals employed by OpenAI wrongfully took Apple's secret and confidential information regarding our unreleased technologies, processes, and products," an Apple spokesperson said in an email. Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for OpenAI, said the company was reviewing the court filing. "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets," he added.
Apple calls OpenAI's hardware business 'rotten to its core' in trade secret theft lawsuit
Apple calls OpenAI's hardware business'rotten to its core' in trade secret theft lawsuit Apple calls OpenAI's hardware business'rotten to its core' in trade secret theft lawsuit The lawsuit also names io Products, the hardware company led by Jony Ive. Apple is suing OpenAI and two of its former employees who currently work at the AI company, for theft of its trade secrets. In a lawsuit filed in federal court Friday, Apple alleges extensive misconduct by the company it once partnered with, describing its hardware business as rotten to its core. The lawsuit also names io Products, the Jony Ive-led hardware startup acquired by OpenAI last year, as complicit in the trade secret theft. It doesn't mention Ive by name, but described the organization as complicit in a coordinated pattern of misconduct at an institutional level within OpenAI.
Creatives sound alarm on copyright as Pocock calls 50bn datacentre proposal 'ultimate dirty deal'
Guardian Australia has been told an industry proposal has been presented to cabinet that would grant AI companies special exemptions to mine creative content. In exchange, the companies would bankroll the artists' fund and commit more than $50bn worth of investment in datacentres. Australia'sleepwalking' into AI crisis and'tech bro free-for-all', says Greens senator The independent senator David Pocock said the proposal was the "ultimate dirty deal" as he demanded the government categorically rule it out. The potential adoption of a text and data mining exemption would represent a major reversal from the federal government, which last year ruled it out after criticism from artists, authors and media groups. Amid fears the government could capitulate to big tech, a delegation of creatives staged a press conference in parliament house on Wednesday to urge the government to hold the line.