Friday’s Endnotes – 02/28/25

How AI models steal creative work — and what to do about it — In this recent Ted Talk, AI expert Ed Newton-Rex describes the three key resources for Generative AI systems: people, compute, and data. By licensing the copyrighted works to train AI models, we can ensure that AI companies and creators thrive together.

Musicians release silent album to protest UK’s AI copyright changes — “Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticised by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work.”

UK Publishers Advance the AI-Copyright Debate — “In working to assess the aftermath of the final push by the book business and nearby creative industries, the Publishers Association in London today (February 26) is sharing its appreciation for international support received during the two-and-a-half-month British government’s copyright-and-AI consultation period, which closed Tuesday night.”

Indian Music Industry Enters the Global Copyright Debate Over AI — “The legal battles surrounding generative AI and copyright continue to escalate with prominent players in the Indian music industry now seeking to join an existing lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. On February 13, 2025, industry giants such as Saregama, T-Series, and the Indian Music Industry (IMI) presented their concerns in a New Delhi court, arguing that OpenAI’s methods for training its AI models involve extracting protected song lyrics, music compositions, and recordings without proper licensing or compensation.”

‘There’s no infringement’: Chickasha leg lamp sparks copyright dispute with Warner Bros. — “Documents from October 2024 that Fox 25 obtained shows Warner Brothers telling many Chickasha groups that it owns the copyright and trademark for the leg lamp from the movie, ‘A Christmas Story.'”