Blake Brittain, Reuters; YouTuber sues Runway AI in latest copyright class action over AI training
"Artificial intelligence video startup Runway AI has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit in California federal court for allegedly misusing YouTube content to train its video generation platform.
YouTube creator David Gardner said in the complaint filed in Los Angeles on Monday, that Runway bypassed YouTube's copyright protections to illegally download user videos for its AI training."
TFL, The Fashion Law; 9th Circuit Says No Copyright in Tracy Anderson, Megan Roup Workout Battle
"In the latest chapter of a closely-watched fitness industry feud, a federal appeals court handed Megan Roup a decisive victory in her copyright battle with rival trainer Tracy Anderson, affirming that Anderson’s dance-cardio routines are not protectable under federal copyright law. In a newly-issued memorandum, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in Roup’s favor, concluding that the so-called “TA Method” amounts to a functional fitness system rather than protectable choreography...
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling sends a clear message to fitness entrepreneurs: branding a workout as proprietary, scientific, or even choreographed will not convert a functional exercise system into a protectable work of authorship. For an industry built on personality-driven empires and carefully curated “methods,” the decision makes clear how limited a role copyright can play in safeguarding competitive advantage. With that in mind, parties like Anderson and Roup will have to rely on trademarks, trade secrets, and as this case illustrates, carefully drafted employment agreements, to protect their intellectual capital.
For now, Roup has secured a meaningful appellate win. And for Anderson, whose cult-followed method helped define boutique fitness in the 2000s, the fight continues – albeit on the contract (not copyright) front.
The case is Tracy Anderson Mind and Body, LLC, et al. v. Megan Roup, et al., 2:22-cv-04735 (C.D. Cal.) "
Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times; Hollywood studios escalate dispute over ByteDance’s ‘pervasive copyright infringement’ with its AI tools
"Following the lead of several major Hollywood studios, the Motion Picture Assn. has sent its own cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, the company behind the controversial artificial-intelligence video generator Seedance 2.0.
The trade association, which represents the interests of major film and TV studios, sent a notice to the Chinese company, reflecting its members’ collective response to “ByteDance’s pervasive copyright infringement.” MPA argues that Seedance’s unauthorized use of copyrighted materials is a “feature, not a bug.”
The letter, sent Friday, marks the first time the MPA has forwarded a cease-and-desist to a major AI firm and represents a further escalation of tensions between the entertainment industry and an AI company."
EILEEN MCDERMOTT, IP Watchdog; Tillis and Schiff Want Answers from ALI on Mass Resignations Around Latest Copyright Restatement Project
"Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, respectively, sent a letter on Thursday to Director of the American Law Institute (ALI) Diane Wood asking for answers to 14 questions about the latest Copyright Restatement Project.
The letter follows mass resignations from the project last year over concerns about the final approved product. Specifically, key copyright proponents resigned over what one of those who resigned, Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid, referred to as “a general undercurrent of anti-copyright sentiment that…manifests itself through a disproportionate focus on atypical court decisions that limit the scope of copyright protection.”
There has been vocal criticism of the project from copyright circles, including the Copyright Office, for years."
Madison Mills, Sara Fischer, Axios; Hollywood's copyright fight meets China's AI boom
"The big picture: Hollywood is leaning on copyright law to rein in Seedance, but legal pressure hasn't slowed the rise of Chinese AI models more broadly."
MATTHEW THOMAS, Men's Journal; 1970 No. 1 Hit Song Sparked the Decade’s Biggest Copyright Lawsuit
"On November 28, 1970, George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord/Isn’t It a Pity” reached number 1 on the Billboard chart together. The songs would hold that top slot for 4 weeks and spend 14 weeks on the charts in total.
“My Sweet Lord” soon spawned an infamous “subconscious plagiarism” legal fight that resulted in a landmark ruling that still profoundly affects the music industry today."
Derrick Bryson Taylor, The New York Times; Why an A.I. Video of Tom Cruise Battling Brad Pitt Spooked Hollywood
"Charles Rivkin, the chairman and chief executive of the Motion Picture Association, called on ByteDance to “immediately cease its infringing activity,” saying in a statement that Seedance 2.0 had engaged in the unauthorized use of copyrighted works on a “massive scale.” Human Artistry Campaign, a global coalition that advocates using A.I. “with respect for the irreplaceable artists, performers and creatives,” said on social media that unauthorized works generated by Seedance 2.0 violated the “most basic aspects of personal autonomy.”
Disney, which in a watershed $1 billion deal last year agreed to allow OpenAI’s Sora users to generate video content with its characters, sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, accusing it of supplying Seedance with a “pirated library” of Disney’s characters — “as if Disney’s coveted intellectual property were free public-domain clip art.”
ByteDance, which also owns TikTok and has been valued at $480 billion in the private markets, said in a statement that it respected intellectual property rights and was aware of the concerns about Seedance."
Dylan Butts, CNBC; ByteDance says it will add safeguards to Seedance 2.0 following Hollywood backlash
"Chinese tech giant ByteDance has said it will strengthen safeguards on a new artificial intelligence video-making tool, following complaints of copyright theft from entertainment giants.
The tool, Seedance 2.0, enables users to create realistic videos based on text prompts. However, viral videos shared online appear to show copyrighted characters and celebrity likenesses, raising intellectual property concerns in the U.S.
“ByteDance respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0,” a company spokesperson said in a statement shared with CNBC."
Katcy Stephan, Page Six Hollywood; How ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’ pushed the limits of copyright law to create its most WTF moments
"“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” the latest mockumentary collaboration between director Matt Johnson and composer Jay McCarrol, probably shouldn’t exist. The film features extended parodies that carefully skirt copyright law, a stunt that sees the duo literally dive off Toronto’s CN tower and at least two dozen more moments that will leave audiences asking “How the hell is this legal?”
It’s a miracle the film made it to screens at all."
Sara Fischer, Axios; Scoop: Disney sends cease and desist letter to ByteDance over Seedance 2.0
"The Walt Disney Company on Friday sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging the Chinese tech giant has been infringing on its works to train and develop an AI video generation model without compensation, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: It's the most serious action a Hollywood studio has taken so far against ByteDance since it launched Seedance 2.0 on Thursday.
Zoom in: The letter, addressed to ByteDance global general counsel John Rogovin, accuses ByteDance of pre-packaging its Seedance service "with a pirated library of Disney's copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney's coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art."
"Over Disney's well-publicized objections, ByteDance is hijacking Disney's characters by reproducing, distributing, and creating derivative works featuring those characters. ByteDance's virtual smash-and-grab of Disney's IP is willful, pervasive, and totally unacceptable," Disney's outside attorney David Singer wrote.
"We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg – which is shocking considering Seedance has only been available for a few days," he added.
Between the lines: The letter includes a slew of examples of infringing Seedance videos that feature Disney's copyrighted characters, including Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Star Wars' Grogu (Baby Yoda), Peter Griffin from Family Guy and others."
Ted Johnson , Deadline; MPA Calls On TikTok Owner ByteDance To Curb New AI Model That Created Tom Cruise Vs. Brad Pitt Deepfake
"As reported by Deadline’s Jake Kanter, Seedance 2.0 users are prompting the Chinese AI tool to create videos that appear to be repurposing, with startling accuracy, copyrighted material from studios, including Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount. In addition to the Cruise vs. Pitt fight, the model has produced remixes of Avengers: Endgame and a Friends scene in which Rachel and Joey are played by otters."
Tariq Panja , The New York Times; Figure Skaters Try to Master a New Routine: Copyright Compliance
"The intricacies of intellectual property law have been the talk of the figure skating competition in Milan unlike at any previous Games. Several athletes have found themselves caught up in copyright controversies before and during one of the biggest competitions of their careers, illustrating the complex and error-prone process skaters must navigate to gain permission to use others’ music in their routines."
DAVE SKRETTA , AP; Why are copyright problems plaguing figure skating at the Milan Cortina Olympics?
"One of the recurring issues during the opening week of the figure skating program at the Milan Cortina Olympics has been copyright problems, which have forced some athletes to scramble for approval and others to ditch their planned programs entirely...
Ted Johnson, Deadline; Adam Schiff And John Curtis Introduce Bill To Require Tech To Disclose Copyrighted Works Used In AI Training Models
"Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) are introducing a bill that touches on one of the hottest Hollywood-tech debates in the development of AI: The use of copyrighted works in training models.
The Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act would require companies file a notice with the Register of Copyrights that detail the copyrighted works used to train datasets for an AI model. The notice would have to be filed before a new model is publicly released, and would apply retroactively to models already available to consumers.
The Copyright Office also would be required to establish a public database of the notices filed. There also would be civil penalties for failure to disclose the works used."
Matt Grover, Deadline ; Paul Thomas Anderson & Composer Jonny Greenwood Call For Removal Of ‘Phantom Thread’ Music From ‘Melania’ Documentary
"After taking notice of the use of a piece of music from their 2017 film Phantom Thread in Amazon MGM Studios‘ Melania Trump documentary Melania, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson and composer Jonny Greenwood are requesting its removal.
“It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary,” said the duo in a statement issued by Greenwood’s camp.
They noted that while “Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use which is a breach of his composer agreement. As a result Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary.”"
Webinar, National Press Foundation: Essential Knowledge for Journalists Reporting on AI, Creativity and Copyright
"Generative AI is one of the biggest technological and cultural stories of our time – and one of the hardest to explain. As AI companies train models on news articles, books, images and music, reporters face tough questions about permission, transparency and fair use. Should AI companies pay when creative works are used to train their AI models? Where’s the line between innovation and theft?
The National Press Foundation will host a webinar to help journalists make sense of the evolving AI licensing landscape and report on it with clarity and confidence. We’ll unpack what “AI licensing” really means, how early one-off deals are turning into structured revenue-sharing systems, and why recent agreements in media and entertainment could shift the conversation from conflict to cooperation.
Join NPF and a panel of experts for a free online briefing from 12-1 p.m. ET, Feb. 19, 2026. The practical, forward-looking discussion examines how trust, creativity, and innovation can coexist as this new era unfolds and will equip journalists with plain-language explanations, real-world examples, and story angles that help readers understand why AI licensing matters to culture, innovation and the creative ecosystem they rely on every day."
Associated Press via ESPN; Russian figure skater changes Olympic music over copyright
"Russian figure skater Petr Gumennik has been forced to change his short program music two days before the men's program at the Milan Cortina Olympics after joining a growing list of figure skaters dealing with copyright issues.
Gumennik, who is participating as a neutral athlete at the Winter Games, had been working all season to music from "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," a psychological thriller film. But the 23-year-old Russian national champion learned in the past few days that he did not have proper permission to perform to the music, leaving him in limbo as the Winter Games began.
Given such a tight timeframe, Gumennik was unable to get clearance for his music from last season, which came from the space opera film "Dune." So he pivoted to "Waltz 1805" by Edgar Hakobyan, for which Gumennik was able to get permission."
DAVE SKRETTA AP sports writer via ABC News; US figure skater Amber Glenn faces backlash over politics and copyright issues
"On the same day Amber Glenn won Olympic gold as part of the team event, and stepped away from social media due to backlash over her comments on politics and the LGBTQ+ community, the American figure skater ended up with another headache.
Canadian artist Seb McKinnon, who produces music under the name CLANN, took to social media late Sunday to object to the use of his song “The Return,” which Glenn had used in her free skate — and has been using for the past two years without issue.
“So just found out an Olympic figure skater used one of my songs without permission for their routine. It aired all over the world ... what? Is that usual practice for the Olympics?” McKinnon posted to X, shortly after the team competition had ended.
Figure skaters are required to obtain permission for the music they use, but that process is hardly straightforward.
Sometimes the label or record producer owns the copyright, other times the artist themselves, and often there are multiple parties involved. Skaters sometimes will piece together different cuts of music, too. Throw in third-party companies such as ClicknClear that try to smooth out the permission process, and the entire copyright issue becomes murky and nuanced."
Lauren Boisvert, Vice; Legal Battle Continues for Amyl & the Sniffers and L.A. Photographer, Both Citing Copyright Infringement
"Legal issues have escalated for Australian punks Amyl & The Sniffers, and right after they announced upcoming tour dates. L.A. courts scheduled a hearing for February 13, 2026, regarding a copyright lawsuit and a restraining order filed last year. The issue allegedly began in June 2024, involving L.A.-based photographer Jamie Nelson.
In December 2025, Nelson filed a civil harassment restraining order petition against Amy Taylor, vocalist of Amyl & The Sniffers. Courts in L.A. did not grant the temporary restraining order. But they did schedule the hearing at this time.
Nelson is cited as the creator and copyright holder of a series of photographs taken of Taylor. The series, titled “Champagne Problems”, appeared in the July 2025 issue of Vogue Portugal.The problem arises for both parties in the subsequent use of these photos beyond their initial purpose.
Essentially, Nelson is accusing Taylor of violating copyright on her photos. Allegedly, a third party related to Taylor distributed them without permission. Prior to this, Taylor accused Nelson of exploiting her image for profit and self-advertisement. Allegedly, she sold fine art prints of the photos. Both parties have taken legal action."
, Collider; Radiohead's Biggest Song of All-Time Got Them Sued for Copyright Infringement
"Radiohead gained widespread attention thanks to their breakout song, "Creep," but not all publicity is good publicity. Released on September 21, 1992, "Creep" was initially considered a commercial flop due to its harsh, distorted guitar "punches," with broadcast stations like the BBC fearing the song might scare off listeners. Over time, however, "Creep" developed a slow-burn cult following, boosted in part by its appearance on MTV's slacker staple Beavis and Butt-Head. Sharing a similar vein with alt-rock counterparts like Beck's "Loser" and its 2000s peppier yet equally self-loathing "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus, "Creep" embraces the ugly side of an attraction that is not reciprocated.
However, shortly after the release of "Creep," Radiohead found themselves in a sticky legal situation. Songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood claimed that the track shared a similar chord progression and melody with "The Air That I Breathe," which they wrote for The Hollies in 1972. Although it was not as large a cultural phenomenon as "Creep," the song reached number two on the UK charts. Upon noticing the similarities, Hammond and Hazlewood contacted Radiohead's publisher, Warner/Chappell Music. Rather than escalating into a public dispute, the matter was resolved amicably, with both parties receiving songwriting credits and having their creative contributions formally recognized. Reflecting on the outcome, Hammond later remarked, "I even have a credit on Creep by Radiohead because of the song. The band admitted that they took the inspiration for it from The Air That I Breathe, including some of the chord progressions."...
In 2017, Lana Del Rey was accused by Radiohead of plagiarizing "Creep." Her song "Get Free," from her fifth studio album Lust for Life, features an intro with moody chord changes that some listeners noted were similar to "Creep." However, in a tweet, Del Rey denied referencing Radiohead: " It's true about the lawsuit. Although I know my song wasn't inspired by Creep, Radiohead feel it was and want 100% of the publishing — I offered up to 40 over the last few months, but they will only accept 100." As of March 26, 2018, the copyright dispute has been settled, and Del Rey is free to sing the song."
