In Law.com, Regina Sam Penti and Matt Rizzolo Discuss AI Copyright Litigation Rulings

In a Law.com and Legaltech News article, technology and IP transactions partner Regina Sam Penti and IP litigation partner Matt Rizzolo discussed AI rulings by two judges in the District of Northern California examining whether training large language models on copyrighted books constitutes fair use.

In the Kadrev v. Meta case, Regina noting that Judge Vince Chhabria emphasized the case was not a class action and applied only to the 13 plaintiffs who brought it. That tone raises uncertainty over how the case may be applied in the future, and how much effect it is going to have on subsequent fair use rulings.

The Copyright Act lists four factors to consider when evaluating whether a given use is fair: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount of the work used in relation to the whole, and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Matt said the fourth factor on the effect of the use on the potential market is key in the Meta and the Bartz v. Anthropic AI copyright infringement cases.