ATTENTION: The first shot (ruling) in the AI scraping copyright legal war HAS ALREADY been fired, and the second and third rounds are in the chamber

The Ongoing Legal Battle Over AI and Copyrights: Key Court Rulings and What They Mean

In recent months, the legal landscape surrounding AI data scraping and copyright law has seen significant developments. As the industry grapples with questions about fair use, liability, and the future of AI training, several national and international court rulings have emerged, shaping the trajectory of this complex legal war.

Landmark First Ruling: A Win for Content Creators

In February 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued its inaugural decision on AI scraping and copyright infringement. The case Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH v. ROSS Intelligence Inc. set a notable precedent by ruling that AI companies can be held liable under copyright law, particularly concerning how they scrape and use text data.

The decision emphasized that AI models, even those not designed to generate text but rather to assist with legal research, can still infringe on copyrights when they scrape proprietary content without proper authorization. While this case involved a non-generative AI system that directed users to relevant legal documents—rather than producing new content—the ruling raised important questions about the scope of fair use in AI contexts.

It’s worth noting that the ruling was made by a trial court judge with an appellate background, giving it considerable weight. The case has been escalated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where a panel of three judges will review the decision—a process expected to take several months. The outcome could influence a broader set of cases across various jurisdictions and may even reach the Supreme Court for a final verdict.

A Misfire in the UK: Getty Images and Generative AI

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, a pivotal case involving Getty Images and generative AI was making headlines. The case Getty Images (US) Inc. v. Stability AI focused on whether AI-generated images that were trained on copyrighted photos constitute infringement.

However, by June 2025, Getty Images withdrew its copyright claims, citing the challenge of proving that the copying occurred within UK territory. Although the case will continue on trademark and secondary infringement claims, its relevance to fair use and AI training remains limited. This turn of events effectively closes this chapter, at least for the time being.

The Next Frontier: Cases in the U.S. Courts

Back across the Atlantic, a promising case for content creators is unfolding in California. The case *Kadrey et al. v. Meta