In late December and early January, IPA filed joint submissions with its Korean member opposing the introduction of new exceptions to copyright protection for AI training and development, proposed in two different public consultations in the Republic of Korea.

In the United Kingdom, the Government has played down expectations of decisive policy action on copyright and AI in the immediate term.  On 13 January, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport gave evidence to the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee announcing the Government doesn’t want to “rush” into a decision but instead wants to “take [its] time” to work through the issues at stake with the recently set up industry working groups. On that occasion, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology said that one of the lessons “learnt last time was that coming out with a preferred option—not least not a terribly popular preferred option—was probably the wrong approach”. The Government is required by law to publish by 18 March an economic impact assessment of the four policy options outlined in last year’s consultation (and any other alternatives the Government wishes to explore), and a report on the use of copyrighted works in AI systems.

In the United States, AAP member publishers, Cengage Group and Hachette Book Group, with the support of AAP, moved to intervene as class representatives for publishers in the case In Re Google Generative AI Copyright Litigation, a consolidated class action lawsuit first filed in 2023 by a group of illustrators and artists alleging willful copyright infringement against Google arising from the company’s development of its generative AI products, including “Gemini.” The Motion to Intervene and Complaint and AAP’s press release are available at Publishers Move to Intervene in Class Action Suit Against Google for Generative AI Product “Gemini.”

Finally, updates have been published on the website for the Anthropic Settlement: https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/

  • Deadline for opt-outs and objections. The court extended the deadline for opts-outs and objections to the settlement from January 29, 2026 to February 9, 2026.  An additional extension was needed to allow time for notice to class members.
  • Final approving hearing.  A hearing on final approval of the settlement was previously scheduled for April 23, 2026, but the court has indicated that date will be extended.  We will let you know when the new hearing date is set.
  • Other deadlines.  The following deadlines remain the same:
    • March 9, 2026: Request re-inclusion to the settlement (if the claimant previously opted out)
    • March 30, 2026:  Submit a claim for payment