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G7 Endorse Voluntary Code of Conduct for Advanced AI Systems prior to UK Global

2023 has been the year that governments, regulators and international organisations have all sought to get to grips with the challenges of regulating AI including the publication in April of the UK government’s policy paper outlining its proposed approach to AI regulation; the EU’s AI Act which may shortly become the world’s first piece of … Continue Reading

UK Online Safety Act Becomes Law

The often-controversial UK Online Safety Act (the OSA) has finally become law after receiving Royal Assent yesterday, heralding the end of the era of largely self-regulation for user generated content by technology platforms, whether large or small. The OSA will impose new duties on all providers who host “user generated content” (i.e. services which allow … Continue Reading

Federal Policymakers: Chasing the Runaway AI Train

The U.S. is generally viewed as “behind” in its regulation of AI compared to the European Union and Asian countries. Yet ChatGPT’s release triggered a tsunami of U.S. legislation in 2023 from federal and state legislators seeking to address perceived concerns with the emerging and fast evolving technology. State legislatures have introduced nearly 200 AI … Continue Reading

The Year of AI Continues: U.S. Copyright Office Wants Your Thoughts on the Potential Regulatory Framework for AI

2023 has been a watershed year for AI with its entry into the broader public consciousness. AI has been front and center in the legal space as well, as this blog has detailed here and here. Now, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) is seeking public comments on the various legal, technical and policy issues raised … Continue Reading

U.S. Outbound Investment Restrictions and Notification Requirements Mandated by Executive Order: Currently Limited to Certain Investments in China Tech

U.S. businesses and investors may be subject to new compliance requirements for outbound investments in certain technology sectors pursuant to U.S. President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (“EO”), titled “Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concerns,” and the corresponding the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) issued by … Continue Reading

Patent Linkage Litigation in China: A Two-Year Review

On June 1, 2021, the Fourth Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law became effective. An important part of the amendment is the introduction by Article 76 of the patent linkage system in China – a system for litigation of drug patents prior to market entry of generics, similar to that provided by the Hatch Waxman … Continue Reading

Generative AI Is Changing How We Do Business and How We Practice Law

The news about Steven Schwartz, the attorney who asked ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, to find cases relevant to his client’s lawsuit only to submit a brief full of bogus caselaw, spread gleefully fast, as embarrassing news does. And although we shook our heads in disapproval, I suspect many attorneys were grateful to Mr. Schwartz. … Continue Reading

EU AI Act Proposal and Regulation of Financial Services

The EU is at the forefront of the commitment to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to ensure better conditions for the development and use of this innovative technology. In 2020, the European Commission published a white paper on AI and stated therein the urgency to address the challenges of complexity, unpredictability, and autonomous behaviour of certain … Continue Reading

Copyright protection for AI works: UK vs US

The use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) is growing, but whether AI-generated works can be protected by copyright remains unclear and the position is inconsistent across different jurisdictions including the UK and USA. A recent US case, concerning a comic book which included AI-generated images, offers an opportunity to contrast the two countries’ approaches to AI-generated … Continue Reading

The Nine Greatest Experts on the Internet, NOT! – The Supreme Court Considers the Algorithm in Google and Twitter

“You have the Truman Show versus a horror show,” said litigation legend Lisa Blatt during oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google. Gonzalez is one of two cases recently decided by the Supreme Court dealing with the imposition of liability on websites that host user-generated content (UGC) for the actions of their users. But more broadly, … Continue Reading

The Rise of Influencer Marketing – Contractual Considerations

According to the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport report on influencer culture, the global sector is expected to grow from $6.0 billion in 2020 to $24.1 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 32%. Influencer marketing offers brands a unique opportunity to target and connect with online communities, using … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Holds that Software Plaintiff Bears Evidentiary Burden of Copyrightability Where Defendant’s Evidence Shows Some Elements Not Copyrightable

In a case that could have some lasting impact, the Federal Circuit recently affirmed a 2020 ruling by Judge Rodney Gilstrap in the Eastern District of Texas dismissing claims that a competitor infringed non-literal elements of the plaintiff’s software. Because defendant World Programming Limited (“WPL”) had shown that some elements of plaintiff SAS Institute’s (“SAS”) … Continue Reading

Automating Entertainment: Writers Demand that Studios Not Use AI

When the Writers Guild of America (WGA) came with their list of demands in the strike that has already grinded production on many shows to a halt, chief among them was that the studios agree not to use artificial intelligence to write scripts. Specifically, the Guild had two asks: First, they said that “literary material,” … Continue Reading

Don’t let the Sun Go Down on EU 2: Proposed further changes to UK plans for Retained EU Law post Brexit and guidance on IP provisions

We reported last week on the UK government’s decision to reduce the scope of its proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. As originally drafted had that bill become law then all direct EU legislation currently retained as UK law would have automatically lapsed at the end of this year unless specifically retained or … Continue Reading

Ghostwriter in the Machine: Copyright Implications for AI-Generated Imitations

A track called “Heart on My Sleeve” went viral recently on social media with lead vocals sounding eerily similar to a certain crooner known for his lovelorn lyrics. The pantomimed artist was Drake, no stranger to thirsty pining, backed by R&B artist The Weeknd. The song, however, was credited to Ghostwriter977, the alias of an … Continue Reading

Don’t let the Sun Go Down on EU: Changes to UK plans for Retained EU Law post Brexit

There has been considerable media coverage in the UK this week following the government’s announcement that it is to reduce the scope of its controversial Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill publications – Parliamentary Bills – UK Parliament). Had this bill entered into law in its original … Continue Reading

World IP Day 2023: Accelerating Inclusivity of our IP Systems

Every year, on April 26, intellectual property organizations around the world observe “World IP Day” – an event established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to raise awareness of patents, copyrights, designs, and trademarks, and to celebrate the creativity and contributions of inventors, authors, artists and entrepreneurs. The theme for 2023 is “Women and … Continue Reading

Human vs AI Analysis of USPTO Updates – How Does Bard Fare?

Generative Artificial Intelligence is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can generate a wide range of content types in response to user prompts. Examples of such content can include text, images, audio and video content, etc. There has been pervasive use of Generative AI over the past few months, to create essays, works of … Continue Reading

Rulemaking at the US Patent Office: Does Director Guidance On Discretionary Denials of Review Require Opportunity for Public Comment?

The Federal Circuit has refused to uphold the dismissal of a complaint alleging that the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) improperly issued instructions to PTAB judges regarding whether to institute requested patent review proceedings. The complaint alleges that the so-called Fintiv factors – initially set forth in two opinions designated by the … Continue Reading

District Court Rules Internet Archive’s Open Library Project is Not Fair Use

A federal district court in New York held that the Internet Archive’s Open Library project was engaging in copyright infringement by publishing digital copies of millions of books online. Even though the Internet Archive and participating libraries purchased print copies of the books and, for the most part, made them available to borrowers on a … Continue Reading

Too Good a Deal? JC Penny Hit with Class Action Suit Over False Reference Pricing

Competition in the world of online sales is intense, but companies that used inflated original prices to lure customers face consequences. JC Penny, for example, has been hit with a class action lawsuit in the Southern District of California over its alleged advertising practice of using “false reference pricing.” The three-count complaint claims the nationwide … Continue Reading

Intellectual Property Strategies for Development of AI in China

China is at the forefront of the AI development race. While many see China’s AI policies as a cover to curb freedoms and control society, the reality is that China is an active AI developer in a thriving market for AI applications in both the trade and industrial sectors.  There are, however, several challenges related … Continue Reading

ITC Denies Competing Motions for Sanctions For Failure to Comply with the Rules

The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) continues to be a popular venue for patent litigation under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The speed at which Section 337 investigations proceed and the significance of an adverse decision can create circumstances that may lead to allegations of improper conduct. Similar to patent litigation in … Continue Reading

The Alice Test for Patent Ineligibility in Practice, Part Two: The Federal Circuit Affirms a Dismissal

In a recent post, I discussed a September Federal Circuit decision (Cooperative Entertainment v. Kollective Technology) that reversed a lower court dismissal of a patent infringement case on Section 101 eligibility grounds under the Supreme Court’s 2014 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank test. Just weeks after that ruling, the Federal Circuit in IBM v. Zillow … Continue Reading
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