Church of Jesus Christ files trademark complaint against podcaster for alleged imitation of brands; DeseretNews, April 19, 2026

 Tad Walch, DeseretNews; Church of Jesus Christ files trademark complaint against podcaster for alleged imitation of brands

"A trademark dispute is headed to the courts after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and podcaster John Dehlin failed to reach a solution after five months of negotiations.

The church and its intellectual property entity, Intellectual Reserve Inc., filed a trademark and copyright complaint in federal court Friday that names Dehlin and his Open Stories Foundation.

The lawsuit claims Dehlin willfully and knowingly created confusion by using logos and marks similar to the church’s and by using copyrighted church photographs. 

Dehlin is the founder and host of the podcast “Mormon Stories.” He was excommunicated from the church in 2015."

Japanese Man Sentenced For Posting ‘Godzilla’ Spoilers Online; Gizmodo, April 21, 2026

 JAMES WHITBROOK , Gizmodo; Japanese Man Sentenced For Posting ‘Godzilla’ Spoilers Online

39-year-old Wataru Takeuchi was charged for posting plot descriptions of movies and anime series so detailed that a Tokyo court declared them copyright infringement.

"Last week, Asahi (via The Verge) reported that the Tokyo District Court sentenced Wataru Takeuchi to a year and a half in prison, as well as a 1 million yen (roughly $6,300) fine, for running foul of Japan’s copyright laws. Takeuchi was the administrator of an entertainment site littered with articles (and, perhaps most crucially, monetized ad displays, from which Takeuchi made almost a quarter of a million dollars in 2023) that went into great length and spoiler-filled detail to summarize the plots of popular shows and movies."

Anthropic Settlement Hearing Comes into Focus; Publishers Weekly, April 20, 2026

 Jim Milliot , Publishers Weekly ; Anthropic Settlement Hearing Comes into Focus

"With the May 14 Bartz v. Anthropic settlement fairness hearing drawing closer, both the Authors Guild and Authors Alliance have issued updates on where the $1.5 billion copyright infringement agreement stands....

The Guild noted that with the higher claim rate, the payout per work will be closer to the $3,000 per work estimated in the lawsuit rather than the $4,876 payout that was based on the number of works claimed in March...

The Authors Alliance update focused on the various objections that have been made about the settlement and which are likely to be raised in the settlement hearing. The objections were unsealed following a motion filed by professor Lea Victoria Bishop.

Among the objections are the claims that the distribution plan systematically favors publishers over authors; that the class notice was “misleading/coercive,” since statutory damages per infringement can technically be up to $150,000/work which would make the settlement amount per work is inadequate; and that the settlement sets a “dangerous precedent” by permitting “a multi-billion dollar AI company to ‘buy’ its way out of massive piracy for a ‘discounted’ rate.”

Judge Martínez-Olguín, who took over the case following the retirement of Judge William Alsup, will oversee the May 14 hearing set for 2 p.m. in the San Francisco Federal Courthouse. A Zoom link will be available for those who cannot make the trip to San Francisco."

NANCY SINATRA SLAMS TRUMP FOR SHARING FRANK SINATRA ‘MY WAY’ VIDEO: ‘SACRILEGE’; Rolling Stone, April 20, 2026

 EMILY ZEMLER , Rolling Stone; NANCY SINATRA SLAMS TRUMP FOR SHARING FRANK SINATRA ‘MY WAY’ VIDEO: ‘SACRILEGE’

"Nancy Sinatra criticized Donald Trump for posting a video of her father Frank Sinatra performing his 1969 song “My Way” on Truth Social over the weekend. 

On Saturday, the president inexplicably posted a clip of Sinatra singing the iconic tune at Madison Square Garden in 1974. One of Sinatra’s fans brought it to her attention on X, writing, “Omg, @NancySinatra will not be happy about this. Trump goes against everything that Frank stood for. He was a big champion for equality and supported the Civil Rights movement.” 

Sinatra responded, “This is a sacrilege.” After another fan asked if there was anything she could do to prevent Trump posting the song she replied, “Unfortunately no. The only people who can do something are the publishers.”

Thousands of authors seek share of Anthropic copyright settlement; Reuters, April 17, 2026

 Blake Brittain , Reuters; Thousands of authors seek share of Anthropic copyright settlement

"Nearly 120,000 authors and other copyright holders are seeking a share of a $1.5 billion class-action settlement with Anthropic over the company's unauthorized use of their books in artificial-intelligence training, according to a ​filing in California federal court.

Claims have been filed for 91% of the more than 480,000 ‌works covered by the settlement, according to a court filing  in the case on Thursday.

A judge will consider whether to grant final approval to the settlement – the largest ever in a U.S. copyright case – at a hearing next month.

Anthropic was the first and ​remains the only major AI company to settle a U.S. class-action by copyright holders alleging AI ​platforms used their work without permission to train their systems."

AI Startups Have These Copyright Lawyers on Speed Dial; Bloomberg Law, April 16, 2026

 David Schultz , Bloomberg Law; AI Startups Have These Copyright Lawyers on Speed Dial

"Something similar connects many of the top attorneys representing the artificial intelligence industry in its most consequential battles: their resumes.

The common thread is Durie Tangri. More than 50 attorneys from the defunct Bay Area intellectual property firm are at the center of epic Silicon Valley copyright fights, just more than three years after Morrison Foerster acquired the practice...

“Tech copyright is a small world,” said Joseph Gratz, one of the alums at Morrison.

The Durie Tangri alums have benefited from the demand in tech copyright law, said Gratz, who has appeared in court defending OpenAI in almost two dozen federal lawsuits...

One of the marquee cases Durie Tangri took on was the decade-long copyright infringement suit over Google’s book digitization. Sonal Mehta, a Durie Tangri alum who is now at WilmerHale, said the boutique relished taking on matters that ventured into uncharted territory.

“We weren’t afraid to be operating in gray areas or to be looking at where the law hadn’t fully developed,” Mehta said. “We didn’t need to feel like every argument had to be something that was a cookie cutter argument that had already been made and won 20 times before.”"

Monkey selfie from 15 years ago accidentally sets precedent for AI copyright dispute; Yahoo News, April 17, 2026

 Daniel Gala , Yahoo News; Monkey selfie from 15 years ago accidentally sets precedent for AI copyright dispute

"What does a selfie taken by a monkey in 2011 have to do with the videos, photos, and music created using today's artificial intelligence tools?

The answer — that the works in question were not created by humans — could have enormous ramifications for the future of intellectual property rights."

AI Makes Securing Copyright Protection for Software Code Tricky; Bloomberg Law, April 15, 2026

Michael Justus, Carlton Fields, Bloomberg Law; AI Makes Securing Copyright Protection for Software Code Tricky

[Kip Currier: I recommend this brief articleLinks to an external site. in Bloomberg Law; the authors do a great job identifying AI, IP, and human and AI-related coding issues right now, such as "vibe coding". They also provide practical strategies for endeavoring to secure copyright protections for code.]

"Copyright protection for software code is being sacrificed, knowingly or not, for the speed and efficiency of AI coding.

This rapid shift in the role of humans from writing code to managing artificial intelligence tools upends traditional copyright protection strategies. Original human-written code is generally copyrightable. But AI-generated code that lacks human authorship is ineligible for copyright protection under US law.

“Vibe coding”—where humans describe a desired software program in natural language and GenAI tools write the code—is pervasive. This isn’t limited to the tech industry. Employees across industries are vibe coding software solutions, which can be valuable to employers.

Developers estimate 42% of code is AI-generated or assisted and the number was expected to increase significantly, according to an October 2025 survey.

The lack of copyright protections is a big deal...

The key is bespoke curation into a creative whole from many options."

AI-Generated Animation: Implement Legal Regulations to Protect Copyright Holders; The Japan News, April 13, 2026

Editorial, The Japan News; AI-Generated Animation: Implement Legal Regulations to Protect Copyright Holders

"Regardless of the motive, it is unacceptable for third parties to edit copyrighted works — into which creators have invested their time and effort — and post them online without authorization. If this situation is left unresolved, it will undermine creators’ motivation and Japan’s content industry could be harmed.

The government should face up to the negative aspects of AI technology and seriously tackle this issue to protect copyright holders and their works."

Addison Rae Files Copyright Claim Against DHS for Using 'Diet Pepsi' in ICE-Related Video: 'Taylor Swift Could Never!'; International Business Times UK, April 10, 2026

 Catherine Armecin Martin, International Business Times UK; Addison Rae Files Copyright Claim Against DHS for Using 'Diet Pepsi' in ICE-Related Video: 'Taylor Swift Could Never!'

"Addison Rae has asserted her control over her creative catalogue by successfully removing her music from a government-led promotional campaign. The pop singer and social media personality recently filed a copyright claim against the Department of Homeland Security after her hit single, 'Diet Pepsi', was featured in a video produced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The legal intervention resulted in the media being disabled across multiple social platforms, effectively silencing the government's use of her intellectual property. This move places Rae among a growing list of pop stars who have refused to allow their work to be associated with federal enforcement activities.

Addison Rae Takes Legal Action as DHS Disables' Diet Pepsi' Video

The controversy began when users online noticed Rae's latest track accompanying footage from the government agency. Rae moved quickly to file the claim, ensuring the content was stripped of its audio or removed entirely."

Why A Potential Supreme Court Copyright Decision Could Change The Music Business; Forbes, April 9, 2026

 Bill Hochberg, Forbes; Why A Potential Supreme Court Copyright Decision Could Change The Music Business 

"There’s billions at stake for music companies and investors who may get a big hit – and not the kind they like – if the U.S. Supreme Court decides music creators and their heirs can get back their copyrights worldwide."

Judge slams key OpenAI witness in copyright infringement case for ‘hazy recollections’; New York Daily News via Chicago Tribune, April 9, 2026

 MOLLY CRANE-NEWMAN , New York Daily News via Chicago Tribune; Judge slams key OpenAI witness in copyright infringement case for ‘hazy recollections’

"An unimpressed Manhattan judge ordered a corporate representative for OpenAI to undergo a second deposition after finding he failed to answer “even the simplest questions” the first time around about what the company has described as efforts to limit chatbots from stealing writers’ work.

​Magistrate Judge Ona Wang, in a sharply-worded 11-page order Tuesday, said OpenAI had been put on notice that the company’s purported expert on plagiarism John Vincent “Vinnie” Monaco was woefully underprepared for his January deposition, ordering him to submit to 3.5 more hours of questioning that took place Wednesday.

​In granting a motion from the Chicago Tribune, New York Times and other news outlets suing OpenAI to compel the additional testimony, Wang deferred ruling on a request for sanctions, saying it would depend on how Monaco fared in his do-over. She said she may issue fines or recommend some of his answers be deemed as admissions.

​OpenAI has previously said that Monaco has more knowledge than any of its engineers about Project Giraffe, an internal operation which the company claims is designed to develop ways to limit its learning language models, or LLMs, from inadvertently regurgitating copyrighted works — the issue at the core of the ongoing Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit."

Another Court Rules Copyright Can’t Stop People From Reading and Speaking the Law; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), April 8, 2026

 MITCH STOLTZ, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); Another Court Rules Copyright Can’t Stop People From Reading and Speaking the Law

"Another court has ruled that copyright can’t be used to keep our laws behind a paywall. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling that it is fair use to copy and disseminate building codes that have been incorporated into federal and state law, even though those codes are developed by private parties who claim copyright in them. The court followed the suggestions EFF and others presented in an amicus brief, and joined a growing list of courts that have placed public access to the law over private copyright holders’ desire for control."

Who owns ideas in the AI age?; Fortune, April 8, 2026

 Francesca Cassidy , Fortune; Who owns ideas in the AI age?; David Shelley, CEO of Hachette’s U.K. and U.S. operations, on taking on Big Tech, defending copyright, and why the future of human creativity is at stake.

"Can you ever really own an idea?"

The Copyright Act in the age of AI; Politico, April 6, 2026

 AARON MAK , Politico; The Copyright Act in the age of AI

"The Copyright Act is reaching a major milestone this year, yet some legal scholars aren’t sure how well it will hold up in the age of artificial intelligence.

Stanford University held a summit on Friday to celebrate (and fret about) the 1976 act, which is the foundation of modern copyright law, as the 50th anniversary of its signing approaches in October. Academics advanced a number of proposals to update and reinterpret American copyright law, though several also warned against stretching it too far. The consensus: AI will reshape copyright whether we like it or not, and that it’s time to grapple with the implications."

US music publishers suing Anthropic make their case against AI 'fair use'; Reuters, March 24, 2026

Blake Brittain , Reuters; US music publishers suing Anthropic make their case against AI 'fair use'

"Music publishers Universal Music Group , Concord and ABKCO have asked a judge in California to rule that U.S. copyright law does not insulate artificial intelligence startup Anthropic from ​liability for copying their song lyrics to train its AI-powered chatbot Claude.

The publishers' request , filed on Monday ‌in federal court in San Jose, tees up a critical question in the legal battle between creators and tech companies: Does the doctrine of "fair use" apply to the copying of millions of copyrighted works to train AI models?"

Anthropic Suddenly Cares Intensely About Intellectual Property After Realizing With Horror That It Accidentally Leaked Claude’s Source Code; Futurism, April 3, 2026

  Frank Landymore, Futurism; Anthropic Suddenly Cares Intensely About Intellectual Property After Realizing With Horror That It Accidentally Leaked Claude’s Source Code

"The AI industry largely acts as if it’s above lowly copyright laws — unless, of course, those laws happen to be protecting its own interests.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, Anthropic is scrambling to contain a leak of its Claude Code AI model’s source code by issuing a copyright takedown request for more than 8,000 copies of it — a gallingly ironic stance for the company to be taking, considering how it trained its models in the first place.

The leak isn’t considered to be an outright disaster; no customer data was exposed, Anthropic says, nor were the internal mathematical “weights” that determine how the AI “learns” and which distinguish it from other models. But it did expose the techniques its engineers used to get its AI model to act as an autonomous agent, a form of digital infrastructure coders call a harness, and other tricks for making the AI operate as seamlessly as it does.

Hence Anthropic’s copyright takedown request, which targets the thousands of copies that were shared on GitHub. It later narrowed its request from 8,000 copies to 96 copies, according to the WSJ reporting, claiming that the initial one covered more accounts than intended.

It’s certainly within Anthropic’s right to issue the takedown request, but the hypocrisy of Anthropic running to the law to protect its intellectual property is plain to see, especially for a company that’s relentlessly positioned itself as the ethical adult in the room."

A folk musician became a target for AI fakes and a copyright troll; The Verge, April 4, 2026

 Terrence O'Brien, The Verge; A folk musician became a target for AI fakes and a copyright troll

"The worlds of generative AI, music distribution, and copyright are complex with multiple points of failure and opportunities for abuse."

Copyright Head Chides Supreme Court’s ‘Shocking’ Cox Opinion; Bloomberg Law, April 3, 2026

 

Annelise Levy

, Bloomberg Law; Copyright Head Chides Supreme Court’s ‘Shocking’ Cox Opinion

"US Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter said the Supreme Court put “little thought” into the implications of its recent decision absolving an internet service provider for not shuttering accounts of users who repeatedly pirated music.

"The throwing out of many, many decades of copyright law on secondary liability so quickly and with so little analysis was shocking," Perlmutter said Friday at a Stanford Law School event."

‘Occasionally a picture can change the course of history’: 33 scandalous photos that shocked the world; The Guardian, April 4, 2026

 Gaby Hinsliff, The Guardian; ‘Occasionally a picture can change the course of history’: 33 scandalous photos that shocked the world 

"The Bullingdon Club photograph, 1987

By Rona Marsden

In 2007, the Mail on Sunday published a photograph taken 20 years earlier: a group portrait of the Bullingdon Club’s class of 1987. Ten young members appear in the bespoke uniform of the exclusive all-male “dining club” at the University of Oxford. Among them are two future luminaries of the Conservative party: David Cameron (standing, second left) and Boris Johnson (seated on the right).

The club’s reputation as a drinking society for badly behaved posh boys – in 1987, a plant pot was thrown out of a window during a Bullingdon party – made the photo a source of embarrassment for Cameron, then leader of the opposition. “We do things when we are young that we deeply regret,” he said in 2009.

Soon after, the company that holds the copyright for the image withdrew permission to republish it. This painting by Oxford-based artist Rona Marsden was commissioned by BBC Newsnight as an alternative. The image remains a striking illustration of the elitism of Britain’s ruling class, and the vast inequality within the country. GS"