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AI training of copyrighted material not fair use: Third Circuit
Courthouse News • • business
Key Points:
- The Third Circuit upheld a ruling that ROSS Intelligence infringed Thomson Reuters' copyright by training its AI on Westlaw's copyrighted headnotes without permission, rejecting ROSS' fair use defense.
- The court found Westlaw’s headnotes to possess a "creative spark" in their selection and arrangement, qualifying them as original, copyright-protected works.
- ROSS’ use of the headnotes was deemed only minimally transformative and served to directly compete with Westlaw’s legal research platform, undermining the fair use claim.
- The decision highlights potential negative impacts on both the market for legal research platforms and the emerging market for licensing AI training data.
- The ruling may set a significant precedent for copyright law’s application to AI training, emphasizing that unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, even for AI development, can constitute infringement.
