In Westlaw Today, Attorneys Examine Appellate Decision That Generative AI Outputs Are Not Copies Under Digital Millennium Copyright Act

In a Westlaw Today article, attorneys examined Doe v. GitHub Inc., in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that generative AI outputs are new works, not copies, under certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

The authors note the case carries both governance implications for industry participants and diligence implications for investors, boards, and sponsors. They explain that Doe v. GitHub is the first appellate decision to apply Section 1202(b) of the DMCA to generative AI, and its emphasis on system architecture offers a framework likely to extend beyond this case.

The article was authored by partner Regina Sam Penti, co-lead of the firm’s AI industry group, data, privacy & cybersecurity associate Briana Fasone and IP transactions associates Oceania Eshraghi and Chloe Meyers.