As copyright cases involving AI reach appeals courts, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) aims to safeguard crucial uses of AI, particularly in legal research. The case of Thomson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence highlights two significant concerns: the legality of using potentially copyrighted material for training AI and ensuring public access to legal texts. ROSS Intelligence developed an AI tool that assisted in legal research but faced copyright infringement claims for using Thomson Reuters’ West headnotes. While initial court decisions appeared favorable to ROSS, their antitrust claim failed, leading to a reversal that deemed ROSS’s usage as infringing copyright. The court’s ruling poses a risk to public access to legal information and suggests West headnotes could be copyrightable. EFF, alongside various organizations, argued that the headnotes lacked sufficient creativity to warrant copyright, advocating for fair use. This landmark case could set a precedent for future copyright challenges involving AI technology in legal contexts.
