Northern District of California Decides AI Training Is Fair Use, but Pirating Books May Still Be Infringing

Two groundbreaking decisions from the Northern District of California—Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc. and Bartz v. Anthropic PBC—shed light on how courts are approaching the use of copyrighted materials in training large language models (LLMs). Both cases involved authors alleging copyright infringement based on the use of their books to train generative AI models, and both courts held that use of the copyrighted materials to train the AI models was transformative. The court in Anthropic held, however, that copying pirated books constitutes copyright infringement and the transformative nature of the use did not rescue such infringement. Conversely, the Meta court held that copying from pirate sites to train AI is fair use, but only because the plaintiffs failed to submit evidence of market harm, which the court believed to be the most relevant factor. As such, while use of copyrighted works to train AI may be fair use, copying works without permission carries the risk of infringement. Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.

Emerging Technologies In Harmony: AI, Crypto, and Policy Innovation

This article was originally published by the California Lawyers AssociationThis article has been reprinted with permission.

The nation is well positioned to further develop artificial intelligence (AI) and promote its application, while the government renews its interest in cryptocurrency (crypto) as a significant part of digital assets. Both AI application and crypto hold huge potential to advance collective prosperity, yet they are rooted in complex, disruptive technologies that pose significant challenges for policymakers. Traditionally, the two fields have followed separate trajectories, but their convergence is increasingly evident.

Read the full article on the Duane Morris website.

3 Tips for Employers Using AI Interviewing Tools

Duane Morris partner Alex Karasik is quoted in the Law360 article, “3 Tips For Employers Using AI Interviewing Tools.”

He tells Law360 “that while aggressive regulation or litigation from the federal level seems unlikely in the near future, employers still need to be proactive about potential AI bias because states and the plaintiffs bar are homing in.

“Even though AI-related technologies are streamlining employment processes exponentially by the day, there still is a required human element[.] Because a human needs to be able to understand when these unique one-off situations may come up, where an applicant or employee needs an accommodation. And a human needs to have the agility to adapt and apply that accommodation request appropriately and lawfully.”

Read the full article on the Law360 website.

How an AI Case Affects Animal Law

On March 18. 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that a work created with artificial intelligence (AI) using a machine cannot be registered in the name of the machine itself because the Copyright Act requires that a copyright owner be a human being.  Thaler v. Perlmutter, No. 23-5233 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 18, 2025).

In fact, the D.C. Circuit made a specific connection to animal law by citing the decision in Naruto v. Slater, 888 F.3d 418 (9th Cir. 2018), in which the Ninth Circuit held that a monkey cannot be an “author” under the Copyright Act.  And, like Thaler, animal rights groups have tried to base their arguments on dictionary definitions.  Read more on the Animal Law Developments Blog.

Trade Secrets Law Is Awkward Fit in AI Prompt-Hacking Lawsuit

Duane Morris partner Agatha Liu is quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “Trade Secrets Law Is Awkward Fit in AI Prompt-Hacking Lawsuit,” about a medical AI company’s novel trade secrets lawsuit that illustrates the challenges artificial intelligence presents for protecting proprietary information.

Liu said hacking AI to reveal its prompts is “not a good thing, but it’s not terribly illegal.” AI developers most likely will have to stay on top of the best practices to craft their products to save them from themselves she said.

“If you want to reduce risk, you need to up the ante and make your system more resilient and context-aware,” Liu said.

To read the full article, visit the Bloomberg Law website.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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