
Publication
Training AI models and copyrighted materials
For the first time, a US court has found that copyright was infringed by copying works for the purpose of training an AI legal research tool.
United States | Publication | March 2020
As educational institutions, dining establishments, retail outlets and other places of public accommodation shutter their doors in response to fears over the spreading coronavirus, individuals are turning to the internet to meet their needs more than ever. Indeed, internet traffic in the United States jumped 20 percent after President Trump declared the pandemic a national emergency, and even more in hard-hit United States cities, such as Seattle, where internet usage increased by 40 percent compared to January.1 Internet providers across the country are even offering free internet and unlimited data to meet the unprecedented need for online access.2
In response to the spreading global pandemic, many commercial enterprises are developing and/or modifying their websites to meet this increased online demand. Educational institutions are implementing online classes, dining and retail establishments are providing for online ordering and delivery, and financial institutions are relying on online banking as they close branches and scale back retail operations.
The closing of these brick-and-mortar establishments and increasing reliance on online operations has great implications for businesses whose websites may not be accessible to the sight- and hearing-impaired. For several years, financial institutions, retailers, and other businesses have been facing a rising tide of website accessibility lawsuits, alleging violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“Title III”), which requires “places of public accommodation” to provide “full and equal enjoyment” of their goods and services to people with disabilities. While several Circuit Courts have held that a “place of public accommodation” is a physical structure, others have concluded the opposite and suggested that Title III applies to a business’ website. As online access expands and the coronavirus increases consumers’ reliance on business’ websites, this trend is likely to accelerate.
So what should these businesses do to minimize their potential liability in these trying times?3
• Make Accessibility a Priority
• Adopt an Accessibility Strategy
• Assess and Minimize Risk
Publication
For the first time, a US court has found that copyright was infringed by copying works for the purpose of training an AI legal research tool.
Publication
Federally regulated employers may soon be required to review and possibly raise pay rates for part-time, seasonal or casual workers under new “Equal Treatment” wage rules.
Publication
Developing high-performance generative AI systems and other AI systems based on machine learning often requires access to vast amounts of data for training (AI training data) and improving their accuracy and performance, and data scraping is an approach that is taken to generate large enough data sets.
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