As trailed in its progress statement published in December 2025 and discussed in our previous blog, the UK government published on 18 March 2026 its much awaited full report considering the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems. The report follows the government’s high-profile consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence which ran … Continue Reading
Connected Vehicles: emerging business models and their key legal aspects In the mid‑90s, Elastica captured a restless cultural moment with Connection—a song pulsing with the irresistible pull toward something new. Thirty years later, automotive and transportation companies are chasing the same energy through the rise of connected vehicles and new AI enabled features. Connected vehicles … Continue Reading
As the 2026 Winter Olympics captivate audiences, one sport in particular―curling―stands out as the perfect metaphor for the challenge of prosecuting AI inventions before the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Both arenas demand foresight, adaptability, and strategic thinking, whether it’s guiding a stone across the ice or shepherding an AI patent application through evolving … Continue Reading
January: the season of fresh starts—when we swear we’ll finally hit the gym, drink more water, and unearth last year’s journal from beneath a mountain of good intentions. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll put down our phones long enough to soak up some actual daylight. In the business world, January offers the perfect opportunity for a … Continue Reading
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—unless you’re Santa and your trade secrets just got swiped by a disgruntled elf with no holiday cheer, wielding powerful magical artificial intelligence (AI) tools like “ElfGPT.” As snow falls over the North Pole and elves frantically race to meet their Christmas Eve deadline, a new kind of … Continue Reading
As readers may recall, in February 2024, the USPTO issued guidance on inventorship in AI-assisted inventions, which we wrote about here. On November 26, 2025, the USPTO rescinded that guidance and replaced it with new guidance. By way of background, the February 2024 Guidance analyzed the naming of inventors for AI-assisted inventions using the Pannu … Continue Reading
The authors wish to thank Sirrul Choudhury for his contributions to this post. On 20 November 2025 the UK government confirmed that the secondary legislation which is required to clarify and bring into force the new consumer subscription contract regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) [A New Era for Consumer … Continue Reading
On 4 November 2025 the UK High Court handed down its judgment in the case of Getty Images (US) Inc (and others) v Stability AI Limited [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch) [High Court Judgment Template]. The case concerned the training, development and deployment of Stability AI’s “Stable Diffusion” generative AI model and, as one of the … Continue Reading
On August 4, the Deputy Commissioner of Patents issued a memorandum to Examiners on evaluation of claims in software-implemented inventions for subject matter eligibility under Section 101. While the memorandum does not fundamentally change the USPTO’s guidance published in the MPEP, the memorandum does provide useful clues as to how the USPTO and the Examining … Continue Reading
Mike Tyson once said “[e]veryone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” This quote describes the confidence that organizations may have in their existing trade secret plans, until they encounter some of the evolving complexities of trade secret protection in this era of the combination of remote work and artificial intelligence (AI). … Continue Reading
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into business operations, IT contracts covering the provision of AI systems are evolving to include critical safeguards. One emerging concept is the AI circuit breaker, a contractual mechanism that provides for an intervention, or override, where an AI system exhibits undesirable or harmful behavior. When contracting for AI, businesses … Continue Reading
If you’re a patent practitioner who works with innovation related to artificial intelligence, you’ll want to consider the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Recentive Analytics, Inc. v. Fox. Corp. This decision is the first to explicitly consider patent eligibility in the context of the use of artificial intelligence. The Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s … Continue Reading
The authors wish to thank Sumaiyah Razzaq for her contributions to this post. Ever since the emergence of generative AI, a major concern for all participants has been the extent to which copyright works can and should be used in training AI models. The application of UK copyright law for this purpose is disputed, leading … Continue Reading
In what may turn out to be an influential decision, Judge Stephanos Bibas ruled as a matter of law in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence that creating short summaries of law to train Ross Intelligence’s artificial intelligence legal research application not only infringes Thomson Reuters’ copyrights as a matter of law but that the copying … Continue Reading
In an eagerly anticipated judgment dated 27 September 2024 (case number 310 O 227/23) the Hamburg District Court dismissed the complaint by photographer Robert Kneschke asserting claims for copyright infringement against non-profit Large-scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network (LAION) based on the use of his photograph in a data set for training AI image generators. Mr. … Continue Reading
Globally, governments are grappling with the emergence of artificial intelligence (“AI”). AI technologies introduce exciting new opportunities but also bring challenges for regulators and companies across all industries. In the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region, there is no exception. APAC governments are adapting to AI and finding ways to encourage and regulate AI development through existing intellectual … Continue Reading
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office continues to seek stakeholder input on AI-generated disclosures and patentability. Earlier this year, USPTO issued a public Request for Comment on the impact of artificial intelligence on prior art, the known understanding of a person of ordinary skill and how this effects patentability, specifically novelty and obviousness of a … Continue Reading
For many years, it has been possible to obtain registered IP protection for the designs of products that have visual appeal in the Member States of the EU. Separately, this is also the case in the UK. The resulting registered industrial design rights have become a valuable and powerful legal tool in every company’s IP … Continue Reading
Last month, viral AI-generated pornographic pictures of Taylor Swift circulated on X (formerly Twitter), with one post remaining for 17 hours and receiving more than 45 million views, 24,000 reposts, and hundreds of thousands of likes before the verified account was suspended for violating platform policy. The images, allegedly created using a company’s text-to-image tool … Continue Reading
SPB’s Scott Warren recently examined the current state of Japan’s copyright laws as they relate to Artificial Intelligence (AI). As they explain, Japan has taken a very flexible approach to help “jump start” AI development in the country. Given the potential impact that this law could have on AI development, we wanted to take a … Continue Reading
Last Fall in this space, we discussed the U.S. Copyright Office’s AI Initiative launched in early 2023. Among other things, the Initiative’s portal compiles registration decisions for AI-generated materials. Particularly instructive is a December 11, 2023 decision by the Copyright Review Board affirming the denial of registration to an AI-generated artwork. As detailed below, when … Continue Reading
In a much anticipated judgment, the UK Supreme Court delivered on 20 December 2023 its ruling in the case of Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (Thaler (Appellant) v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (Respondent) – The Supreme Court) on whether an artificial intelligence (AI) system can be named as the … Continue Reading
In the age of generative AI, it is easier than ever to make an unauthorized AI replica of our favorite celebrities. Using AI algorithms, deepfake technology can create authentic-looking, fictional reproductions, making it quite difficult to spot the difference between a real and a fake. Many of us see AI generated songs and recordings on … Continue Reading
We previously reported that artificial intelligence (“AI”) is changing the landscape of all aspects of our modern economy. The world of professional sports is no exception. Emerging technologies are transforming the games we know and love. From player recruitment to athlete recovery, AI’s integration into sports is opening doors for optimized performance and real-time risk … Continue Reading
