In a recent development in the legal technology arena, a judge has ruled that ROSS Intelligence’s use of data from Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw was not covered under the fair use doctrine. This decision reverses a ruling from 2023 which denied Thomson Reuters a summary judgment. Although this ruling marks a significant shift, the case is set to proceed to trial, leaving open the possibility of further legal contestation between the parties involved.
The litigation hinges on the assertion that ROSS, a company specializing in legal research AI, improperly utilized Westlaw’s proprietary headnotes in training its artificial intelligence systems. Thomson Reuters, which owns Westlaw, has long maintained that the data in question is protected and that its use by ROSS represents a violation of intellectual property rights.
This ruling is a notable event in the ongoing legal discourse surrounding the use of copyrighted materials in AI training, a complex and evolving field. The implications of the decision could potentially influence how legal datasets are leveraged in the development of artificial intelligence technologies in the future.
For further details on this case, legal professionals and interested parties can access the full report published by Legal Tech News.