Intellectual Property Digest

COPYRIGHT NEWS

Boom in A.I. Prompts a Test of Copyright Law

The boom in artificial intelligence tools that draw on troves of content from across the internet has begun to test the bounds of copyright law.

Authors and a leading photo agency have brought suit over the past year, contending that their intellectual property was illegally used to train A.I. systems, which can produce humanlike prose and power applications like chatbots.

Read more on
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/30/business/media/copyright-law-ai-media.html

REGULATORY AGENCY NEWS

NAFDAC Alerts Nigerians Over Contaminated Soft Drink Bottles

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted the public of a contaminated batch of unwholesome Sprite 50cl glass bottles circulating in Nigeria.

Read more on : https://leadership.ng/nafdac-alerts-nigerians-over-contaminated-soft-drink-bottles/

TRADEMARK NEWS

Taco John’s responds to Taco Bell’s Taco Tuesday Trademark lawsuit

Taco John’s, a regional chain, has responded to Taco Bell’s effort to liberate the trademark phrase “Taco Tuesday” so that anyone can use it.

Read more on: https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/26/business/taco-johns-taco-tuesday-response/index.html

COPYRIGHT NEWS

Appeal Court affirms lower court judgment awarding N500m against Cross River State Government for Copyright Infringement

The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State has affirmed the 2018 judgment of the Federal High Court awarding the sum of N500 million to Copyright Society of Nigeria, Nigeria’s biggest copyright collective management organisation.

Read more on:

Copyright: Appeal Court affirms lower court judgment awarding N500m against Cross River - The award, by the Court of Appeal on Monday, was for copyright infringement at the Calabar Carnival and Festival.

COPYRIGHT NEWS:
No Dancing, Judge Tells Jury at Ed Sheeran Copyright Trial

NEW YORK (Reuters) -With Ed Sheeran on the witness stand in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday during a copyright trial, jurors were warned to keep their composure while watching a video of the British pop star performing a medley of his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" and the classic Marvin Gaye tune "Let's Get it On."

"We don't allow dancing," U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton instructed the seven-member jury.

Read more on: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-04-25/ed-sheeran-appears-in-us-court-for-copyright-trial-over-marvin-gayes-lets-get-it-on