News Media Sounds AI Copyright Alarm, Starbuck Fights w/ Union over (TM), UMG Sues Anthropic

Another new edition of the Monthly IP Rewind...Here’s a recap of the events from the past month:

News Media & AI: New Landscapes

A new dimension in the tensions between creators/publishers and AI has arisen, this time in the news media industry:

• “Tech companies maintain that their datasets are protected by the fair use doctrine, which allows for the repurposing of copyrighted work under certain conditions.” – The news media and AI: a new front in copyright law, Columbia Journalism Review

Are these datasets fair use as tech companies claim? We should first consider what exactly is copyrightable, which as it turns out is a large swath of content. Learn more here.

Starbucks & Starbucks Union At Odds Over Trademark

Starbucks has decided to use trademark infringement claims in order to hit back at its the union representing its’ workers:

• “Xuan-Thao Nguyen, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law, tells Eater Seattle that Starbucks will have to clear several hurdles to prove that Starbucks Workers United is committing trademark infringement or diluting the value of Starbucks’s trademarks. Starbucks Workers United can argue that it is using the word Starbucks in its name “to identify who they are” rather than using it as a trademark.” – Starbucks and the Starbucks Union Are Suing Each Other Over Social Media Posts, Eater

Could the Starbucks Union use of the logo qualify as fair use? Take a look at fair use and trademarks here.

Universal Music Group Taking On Generative AI

Music industry behemoth UMG (and other major labels) have decided to draw a line in the sand in regards to generative AI:

• “Universal Music Group and other major record labels sued Anthropic on Wednesday for using its AI tool to distribute copyrighted lyrics without a licensing deal. ” – Music lyrics lawsuit could set AI copyright precedent, Axios

Learn about the potential implications emerging at the intersection of AI and the music industry here.

What are your thoughts on the intellectual property issues brought up over the past month? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments, and subscribe to the newsletter to keep up with us.