Copyright Updates: AI Copyright cases in Korea, the UK, and the US

In the United Kingdom, it seems the Government might by halting plans to introduce a new exception for AI training and development. On 13 January, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport gave evidence to the House of Lords' Communications and Digital Committee announcing the Government doesn't want to "rush" into a decision but instead wants to "take [its] time" to work through the issues at stake with the recently set up working groups. On that occasion, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said that one of the lessons "learnt last time was that coming out with a preferred option-not least not a terribly popular preferred option-was probably the wrong approach". The Government is required by law to publish by 18 March an economic impact assessment of the four policy options outlined in last year's consultation (and any other alternatives the Government wishes to explore), and a report on the use of copyrighted works in AI systems.

In the United States, AAP member publishers, Cengage Group and Hachette Book Group, with the support of AAP, moved to intervene as class representatives for publishers in the case In Re Google Generative AI Copyright Litigation, a consolidated class action lawsuit first filed in 2023 by a group of illustrators and artists alleging willful copyright infringement against Google arising from the company's development of its generative AI products, including "Gemini." The Motion to Intervene and Complaint and AAP's press release are available at Publishers Move to Intervene in Class Action Suit Against Google for Generative AI Product "Gemini."