Estudios de caso

Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GMBH and West Publishing Corp. v. Ross Intelligence Inc.

J.S. Held amplía su experiencia en disputas financieras al ámbito del derecho de familia con la adquisición de CMM, LLP

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Inicio·Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GMBH and West Publishing Corp. v. Ross Intelligence Inc.

La situación

THOMSON REUTERS ENTERPRISE CENTRE GMBH and West Publishing Corp., Plaintiffs, v. ROSS INTELLIGENCE INC., Defendant.

United States District Court, D. Delaware, Case No. 1:20-cv-613-SB

Nuestro asesoramiento

James E. Malackowski serves as the financial damages expert and expert on the fourth fair use factor (market impact) in Thomson Reuters Enterprise Inc. et al. v. ROSS Intelligence Inc., one of the most significant copyright disputes involving generative artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. 

This landmark case addresses allegations of copyright infringement and tortious interference arising from the use of Thomson Reuters' proprietary Westlaw legal research content-specifically, the copyrighted West Key Number System and Westlaw Headnotes-to train an AI-powered legal research platform. The litigation examines fundamental questions about the boundaries between AI use and copyright protection, the existence of licensing markets for AI training data, and the economic impact of AI model training on content owners' existing and potential markets.

 

Expert Analysis
Our engagement comprised comprehensive expert analysis addressing:

  • Compensatory Damages: Calculating actual damages to Plaintiffs based on lost license fees resulting from unauthorized use of copyrighted content, including analysis of subscription versus non-subscription pricing structures and the extraordinary volume of content accessed beyond normal usage patterns.
  • Market Substitution Analysis: Evaluating how the introduction of a competing AI-powered legal research platform, developed using proprietary editorial content without proper compensation, impacts the market value of the original copyrighted works and discourages future investment in similar high-quality legal research content.
  • Fourth Fair Use Factor - Market Impact: Determining whether markets exist or are likely to develop for licensing Westlaw content as AI training data, assessing demand indicators, party conduct and investments, the value and importance of editorial enhancements to AI training effectiveness, and the economic harm from loss of exclusive use rights.
  • Statutory Damages Alternative: Calculating the range of statutory damages available under copyright law based on the number of infringing works, providing the court with alternative remedies frameworks appropriate for willful versus non-willful infringement.

 

Significance
This engagement exemplifies the complex intersection of intellectual property law, artificial intelligence technology, and economic damages analysis that defines the emerging field of AI disputes. The case is significant for enterprise AI governance and addresses critical questions facing every organization deploying generative AI systems:

  • Training Data Licensing: Whether and how content owners can establish and enforce licensing markets for proprietary content used in AI model training
  • Fair Use Boundaries: The economic analysis required to evaluate fair use defenses in the context of AI training on copyrighted materials
  • Market Development: How AI-related conduct impacts existing markets and potential markets that copyright law is designed to protect
  • Unjust Enrichment: Quantifying the commercial advantage gained by deploying AI systems trained on proprietary content without authorization

Contacto clave:

James E. Malackowski, CPA, CLP
Director de propiedad intelectual | Líder de la práctica de Propiedad Intelectual
+1 312 327 4410
[email protected]

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