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The U.S. Copyright Office Sessions: Generative Artificial Intelligence in Music and Sound Recordings

On May 31, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) held the final session of its Spring 2023 AI Listening Session. This session was held across two panels and discussed the copyright implications of AI-generated content (AIGC) in music and sound recordings. The panelists consisted of various stakeholders in the music…

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Power Grids and Points of Vulnerability: Keeping the Lights on Amid Cybersecurity Concerns

Although that new smart refrigerator might seem like a fun gadget and great way to sync up grocery lists, smart appliances have the potential to become vectors in malicious power grid attacks. Or what about the increasingly popular addition of a solar plus storage solution or an EV charging station…

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In Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith, the Supreme Court Revisits the Copyright Fair Use Test

On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the purpose and character of the use of “Orange Prince” by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts (AWF) weighed against a finding of fair use of Lynn Goldsmith’s photograph of the artist known as Prince. The decision’s implications…

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Implementing a Policy for Employee Use of ChatGPT in the Workplace

The use of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, are becoming increasingly popular in the workplace. Generative AI tools include artificial intelligence chatbots powered by “large language models” (LLMs) that learn from (and share) a vast amount of accumulated text and interactions (usually snapshots of the entire internet). These tools are…

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The U.S. Copyright Office Sessions: “Artificial Intelligence and Copyright – Visual Arts”

On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) held the second of four sessions on the copyright implications of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), titled “Artificial Intelligence and Copyright – Visual Arts.” The session focused on GAI issues relevant to visual works, and featured two panels with various stakeholders…

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Counterfactuals: From Philosophy to Predicting Your Favorite Song

Counterfactuals, the buzzy term being touted in the latest AI news, assert some impressive promises for the tech world. But the general idea is nothing new. Counterfactual thinking describes the human drive to conjure up alternative outcomes based on different choices that might be made along the way—essentially it’s a…

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Greenlights, Passing Grades and Seals of Approval: Keeping Up with the Downsides of Technology

New and emerging technologies have always carried a host of potential risks to accompany their oft-blinding potential. Just as dependably, those risks have often been ignored, glossed over or just missed as public enthusiasm waxes and companies race to bring a product to market first and most effectively. Automobiles promised…

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China Tackles Generative AI

As the emergence of generative AI brings new market opportunities to China, leading China-based tech giants have released or plan to release their own self-developed generative AI services. On April 11, 2023, China’s main cybersecurity and data privacy regulator, Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) issued its Administrative Measures on Generative Artificial…

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A “Far-Reaching Decision” for the Copyrightability of Computer Programs

On April 6, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed Judge Gilstrap’s ruling in SAS Institute, Inc. v. World Programming Limited, which effectively denied copyright protection to SAS Institute’s data analysis software. The decision is likely to have lasting implications for developers that seek to protect…

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AI as Prior Art: New Hurdles and Horizons in Patent Disputes

Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are one of the more exciting examples. Their generative capabilities have implications for our patent system, some of which are underappreciated and nonintuitive. Under U.S. patent law, an inventor may not obtain a patent if the claimed invention…