Yesterday, the European Copyright Society (ECS) published its Opinion on the CJEU MIO/konektra cases C- 580/23 and C-795/23 (originality and infringement test of works of applied art). The Executive Summary is reproduced below and the full Opinion is available here: ecs-opinion-mio-konektra.pdf Executive summary Background. In Cofemel, the CJEU recognized that (i) the standard test…
As the discussion on AI regulation is intensifying around the globe, the Australian Government’s Department for Industry, Science and Resources has recently announced Safe and responsible AI in Australia: Proposals paper for introducing mandatory guardrails for AI in high-risk settings. The Proposals Paper is strongly influenced by the EU AI Act, which is cited on…
Introduction The interaction between the AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) and the exceptions for text and data mining (TDM) in the CDSM Directive is one of the most important topics in EU copyright law today. One particularly controversial point of intersection is the AI Act’s attempt, through recital 106, to give extraterritorial effect to its copyright-related…
Allegations against Marvel and one of its top writers fail for the second time. Action-adventure characters from the Captain America and Spider-Man franchises were not unlawfully copied from the self-published comic book series of a relatively unknown author, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held. The court, in affirming an Atlanta…
In the first part of this post on the Kneschke vs. LAION decision by the German Hamburg Regional Court (“Court”), we explored the Court’s key findings regarding the operational step in a generative AI model, and the decision on the exceptions for scientific research text and data mining (“TDM”) and temporary reproductions. Now, in this…
On September 27, 2024, the German Hamburg Regional Court (“Court”) issued the first ruling on reproductions of copyrighted content from the Internet made during the creation of an AI training data set – and on whether the copyright exceptions for text and data mining (“TDM”) provide statutory permission for such use (Landgericht Hamburg, 310 O…
Copyright is not averse to new technologies. Its history is intrinsically linked to technological development. At each stage, revisions, adjustments, and adaptations to the existing organizational and legal structure are necessary and ideally preceded by wide-ranging and informed debate. The same holds true for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. And the interaction between copyright and AI…
In Equisafety Ltd v Woof Wear Ltd (Equisaftey) Ian Karat sitting as a Judge in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) rejected the Claimant’s copyright infringement claim in respect of various equestrian garments because the garments did not qualify as works of artistic craftsmanship under s.4 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA). …
In its latest opinion, the European Copyright Society has reviewed the German Federal Court of Justice’s (BGH) referral in the Pelham II (a.k.a. Metall auf Metall) case. Although the beginning of the legal dispute dates back to 1999, a quarter century seemed to be not enough to answer all possible questions surrounding the sampling of a…
Just seven weeks after the release of the AG’s Opinion the Kwantum v. Vitra case was decided by the European Court. For Dutch background and early criticism, see my earlier blog. The main question asked to the Court was whether a Member State may unilaterally apply the Berne Convention’s rule of material reciprocity (Article 2(7)…
