Major AI copyright ruling - The Delaware District Court’s decision in Thomson Reuters v. Ross AI could have huge implications for AI training and copyright law. On this episode of The Briefing, Weintraub attorneys Scott Hervey and Andy Tan break down the case, its impact on the AI industry, and what it means for content creators.
Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel here.
Show Notes:
Scott:
This February, the Delaware District Court, in the case of Thompson Reuters versus Ross AI, issued a decision that will have, in all likelihood, profound ramifications on all pending AI copyright infringement cases. I'm Scott Herbie, a partner at the law firm of Weintraub Tobin, and I'm joined today by my colleague, Andy Tan. We're going to walk through the court's decision in Thompson Reuters versus Ross AI and discuss how this case will impact the other AI training, copyright infringement cases currently pending. We'll also talk about what this case could mean, both for the AI industry and the creators of content on this installment of “The Briefing.” Andy, welcome to “The Briefing.” This is your first time on “The Briefing”, so thanks for doing this.
Andy:
Thanks, Scott. It's an honor to be part of it. I've been a long-time fan and watcher, so it's great to be on now.
Scott
Well, we're glad to have you. This case is right up your alley. You do a lot of deals in the AI space, so I thought this one would be appropriate for you to do with me.
Andy
Yeah, it's definitely coming up, and AI is the hot topic in the legal world for the foreseeable future, I think.
Scott
Yeah, that's for sure. Well, let's start. Why don't we start with the facts of the case because this case, it's got some interesting twist and turns. Andy, can you take us through the basic facts of the case?
Andy
Yeah, I would be happy to. I'll run through the basic facts of the case. If you want a more in-depth discussion, you should check out the November 9, 2023, episode of The Briefing, where Scott and our colleague Tara go over it in detail. I'll just go over the facts Again. But so, who are the players? Reuters owns West Law. It's one of the primary legal research tools. Ross was a legal research AI startup. I say was because Ross AI closed down as an operating company in 2020. They said it was due to the Thompson Reuters lawsuit, but its insurance coverage probably allowed it to continue to defend the Thompson Reuters lawsuit, so we're not sure that's the reason. Ross hired a subcontractor to create memos memos with legal questions and answers. Now, these questions were meant to be those that a lawyer would ask, and the answers were direct quotations from legal opinions. They used these memos to train Ross's AI legal research tool so that when a user asks a legal question, Ross's tool responds with relevant judicial opinions, which Reuters is saying is similar to Westlaw's headnotes. Reuters, the provider of the Westlaw Service, contended that these questions were essentially Westlaw case notes, and the court found, as a matter of law, that Ross copied portions of the Westlaw headnotes.
Andy
Ross challenged Reuters' copyright in the headnotes and raised a fair use defense.
Scott
That's right. This case is particularly interesting because it features something rare in federal courts: a judge reversing his own prior summary judgment ruling. Let's start with the procedural history because that It's unique. This case, as you said, began in 2020 when Thompson Reuters sued Ross in Delaware district Court. In 2023, Judge Bibas issued a summary judgment opinion that largely denied Thompson Reuters' motions on copyright infringement and fair use. But then something unusual happened. As the case was heading towards trial that was scheduled for August 2024, Judge Bibas took a closer look at the materials and had what you might say is a judicial epiphany. The judge continued the trial date and invited the parties to renew their summary jud...