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March 4, 2026

Top Noteworthy Copyright Stories from February 2026

by Rachel Kim

In February 2026, the U.S. Copyright Office published its long-awaited statutorily mandated report evaluating the three-year old Copyright Claims Board (CCB). Courts were also busy, as at least six new AI copyright lawsuits were filed—bringing the total number of AI and copyright cases filed to over 80. Here is a quick snapshot of the top copyright news stories from last month.

At least six new AI copyright cases were filed in February 2026, mostly by YouTube and online content creators against a variety of AI companies.

YouTubers File Class Action AI Lawsuit Against Meta

On February 4, a group of YouTubers and podcasters, Devin Youngblood, Nicole Chmura, and Chris Rice, filed a class action lawsuit against Meta over the unauthorized scraping of plaintiffs’ YouTube videos and circumventing  technological protection measures (TPMs) to train Meta’s non-generative Video Join Embedding Predictive Architecture (V-JEPA) models. The complaint includes one claim of violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition against the circumvention of TPMs under Section 1201(a).

Author Files Class Action AI Lawsuit Against Adobe

On February 9, author Arthur Kleiner brought a class action lawsuit against Adobe over the unlicensed use of plaintiff’s books to train Adobe’s SlimLM small language models. The plaintiff alleges that Adobe copied, cleaned, and deduplicated versions of the RedPajama dataset that included the Books3 corpus containing copies of books from the pirate website Bibliotik and works from the Common Crawl dataset. The complaint includes one claim of direct copyright infringement.

YouTube Creator Files AI-Related Class Action Lawsuit Against Snap

On February 18, YouTube creator Nicole Chmura filed a class-action lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging that the company is liable for circumventing Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) that prevent YouTube videos from being scraped, downloaded, and bulk-extracted without consent. Plaintiff alleges that in order to fuel its AI development activities, Snap used the HD-VILA-100M dataset to scrape YouTube videos and also created the Panda-70M dataset that contains annotated YouTube clips. The complaint includes one claim of violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of TPMs under Section 1201(a).

YouTube Content Company Ace Cam Files AI-Related Class Action Lawsuit Against Runway AI

On February 18, YouTube media content company Ace Cam Inc. (DBA “Random Golf Club”) filed a class action lawsuit against Runway AI, Inc., alleging that the AI company is liable for circumventing Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) that prevent unauthorized scraping and downloading of YouTube videos. Plaintiff alleges that Runway used these videos to develop its AI platforms. The complaint includes one claim of violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of TPMs under Section 1201(a).

YouTube Creator Files AI-Related Class Action Lawsuit Against Runway AI

On February 23, YouTube creator David Vance Gardner filed a class action lawsuit against Runway AI, Inc. alleging that that the AI company is liable for circumventing Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) that prevent unauthorized scraping and downloading of YouTube videos. Plaintiff alleges that Runway used these videos to develop AI platforms. The complaint includes claims of violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of TPMs under Section 1201(a) and various state law claims.

YouTube Content Company Businessing LLC Files AI-Related Class Action Lawsuit Against Runway AI

On February 27, YouTube media content company Businessing LLC (DBA “Ali Spagnola”) filed a class action lawsuit against Runway AI, Inc., alleging that the AI company is liable for circumventing Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) that prevent unauthorized scraping and downloading of YouTube videos. Plaintiff alleges that Runway used these videos to develop its AI platforms. The complaint includes one claim of violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition against circumvention of TPMs under Section 1201(a).

Also in February, there were two voluntary dismissals of recently filed AI lawsuits.

YouTube Creators Voluntarily Dismiss Class Action AI Lawsuit Against Meta

On February 19, a group of podcasters and YouTube creators, Devin Youngblood, Chris Rice, and Nicole Chmura, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the class action lawsuit they brought against Meta over the unauthorized scraping of plaintiffs’ YouTube videos and circumventing the technological protection measures (TPMs) to train Meta’s non-generative Video Join Embedding Predictive Architecture (V-JEPA) models.

YouTuber Files Class Action Lawsuit Against NVIDIA; Voluntarily Dismisses It Soon After

On January 29, podcaster Devin Youngblood filed a class action lawsuit against NVIDIA over the unauthorized scraping of plaintiff’s YouTube videos and circumventing technological protection measures (TPMs) to train NVIDIA’s foundational video model, named Cosmos. The plaintiff alleged that public reports revealed NVIDIA developers had used training datasets containing URLs or YouTube Video IDs for videos that end users downloaded and copied to train AI models. The complaint included one claim of violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibition against the circumvention of TPMs. On February 3, the plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit.

There were also other notable developments in AI copyright cases last month.

Publishers File Reply Brief in Motion to Intervene in AI Case Against Google

On February 5, Cengage Learning and Hachette Book Group filed a reply brief responding to Google’s objection to the publishers’ motion to intervene in the case titled In re Google Generative AI Copyright Litigation, which is a consolidation of cases launched by authors against Google over the unlicensed use of various copyrighted works to train the Gemini AI model. The publishers argue that it is vital for them to join the lawsuit to fully represent and litigate matters that affect the literary works industry and that Google’s opposition misrepresents the clear legal interests of publishers in this matter and misstates the law on the timeliness of the motion to intervene.

Ninth Circuit Holds Oral Arguments in ‘Doe v. Github’Case

On February 11, a panel of judges of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held oral arguments in the Doe v. Github case concerning the plaintiff’s interlocutory appeal on the district court’s interpretation that Section 1202(b) of the Copyright Act requires that identical copies be made for liability for removal of Copyright Management Information (CMI). In the case brought by GitHub programmers against Microsoft and OpenAI for allegedly violating their open source licenses and scraping their code to train Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, GitHub Copilot, the district court had concluded that plaintiffs failed to meet the DMCA’s identicality requirement and dismissing the 1202(b) claims with prejudice. Ninth Circuit Judges Sydney R. Thomas, Eric Miller, and Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr., asked counsel for both sides various questions including whether removal of CMI was happening in the AI training or output phases, whether the CMI removal claims in relation to AI training were properly preserved before the court, whether infringement of any of the exclusive rights would affect the analysis of CMI removal claims, the role of fair use in the analysis of CMI removal claims, whether “removal” requires an affirmative act or can be effectuated by other means including by omission, and whether plaintiffs’ argument about injury plays into an analysis about standing to sue or an analysis on the merits of the case.

White House Reiterates Need for Respect for Copyright in AI Regulation

According to reports, the White House responded to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights. In its response, the White House pointed to President Trump’s December 11, 2025, AI Executive Order, titled “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” and stated, “The White House supports AI regulation that supports minors, as outlined in the Executive Order—That framework should also ensure that children are protected, censorship is prevented, copyrights are respected, and communities are safeguarded.” (emphasis added)

USCO Issues CCB Report

On February 13, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) published a report on the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) three years after its first determination which highlights successes, challenges, and areas of improvements for the CCB. The Office reported that although the CCB has been well-utilized by a range of parties who would have otherwise been unable to enforce their rights, various statutory provisions governing CCB procedures made the process cumbersome and less accessible for pro se parties. The Copyright Office and Copyright Claims Officers (CCOs) recommended several changes to the CASE Act including: permitting additional service methods, permitting a single CCO to preside over standard CCB proceedings, permitting respondents who chose to participate in CCB proceedings to affirmatively waive the remainder of the opt-out period, enhancing the CCB’s ability to provide mediation and institute mandatory settlement conferences, and allowing prevailing parties to recover costs.

USCO Launches New Group Registration Option for 2D Artwork

On February 17, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) announced the launch of the new Group Registration for Two-Dimensional Artwork (GR2D) for visual artists, in which they can register up to twenty published two-dimensional works. The new option follows a final rule issued on December 19, 2025, and is now available for use. 

LOC and USCO Host CPMC Meeting

On February 25, the Library of Congress (LOC) and U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) hosted a public meeting of the Copyright Public Modernization Committee (CPMC). Acting LOC Librarian Robert Newlen, Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, and LOC Chief Information Officer (CIO) Judith Conklin provided opening remarks reiterating the LOC and USCO’s achievements to date on the Enterprise Copyright System (ECS), continued commitments on IT modernization efforts, and the goal for core ECS functions to be operational by the end of 2028. USCO leadership also discussed key achievements and updates in the Copyright Contact Center, USCO public records, recordation program, ECS licensing, and ECS registration. USCO staff provided a demonstration of a working version of the ECS standard application form and a concept design for group registration of photographs. A recording of the public meeting will be made available on the USCO’s IT modernization webpage.

Senators Introduce Copyright AI Transparency Bill

On February 10, Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting (CLEAR) Act, which would require anyone using a training dataset in connection with the training or release of a generative AI model to submit a notice to the Register of Copyrights that contains a sufficiently detailed summary of each copyrighted work used in the dataset and a URL if it’s publicly available online at the time the notice is submitted. The bill would also create a cause of action for copyright owners to bring a lawsuit against anyone who fails to file such a notice. Remedies would include damages, paid to the Copyright Office, of not less than $5,000 for each instance that the required notice was not submitted (but no more than $2.5 million in total civil penalties), injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, and court costs. The Copyright Alliance issued a statement regarding the bill’s introduction.

Senators Question ALI About Controversial Copyright Restatement Project

On February 19, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary IP (SJC) IP Subcommittee Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Ranking Member Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to Director of the American Law Institute (ALI) Diane Wood, focusing on the mass resignation of participants that occurred at the conclusion of the Copyright Restatement project, and asking Director Wood to answer a number of questions related to the resignations and the ALI’s approach to, and treatment of, the project. Subsequent to the letter, over 500 signatories signed a petition by the Copyright Restatement Transparency Project which states: “The ALI Copyright Restatement includes significant inaccuracies, omissions, and mischaracterizations of copyright law and we caution against its use as a reliable authority on copyright.”

Second Circuit Vacates Hike in BMI’s Live Concert Royalty Rates

On February 24, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated a hike in royalty rates for music performed at live concerts from the repertoire of performing rights organization (PRO) BMI. The rate hike, which was granted in 2023, gave BMI-affiliated songwriters a 138% rate increase from previous rates. The North American Concert Promoters Association (NACPA) had subsequently appealed the rate hike decision.

Comedians and Pandora Settle Lawsuit Over Public Performance of Comedy Routines

On February 3, the parties in In Re Pandora Media, LLC Copyright Lit filed a joint notice of settlement in the consolidated cases that had been launched by various comedians and comedians’ estates against Pandora Media over allegations that the digital radio platform failed to pay proper public performance royalties for streaming the plaintiffs’ comedy routines. In July 2025, a magistrate judge recommended that the district court grant Pandora’s motion for summary judgment, opining that Pandora was entitled to an implied license based on various facts including that plaintiffs admitted they intended to convey all rights necessary for their recording companies and distributors to license streaming services like Pandora.

Magistrate Judge Issues Order Stating Subpoenaed Information About Alleged Infringer Cannot Be Used in Foreign Copyright Lawsuits

On February 2, a magistrate judge in the district court for the Northern District of California issued a discovery order, rejecting a proposal made by Japanese manga publisher Shueisha to use personal information about a pirate website operator obtained by subpoenaing Cloudflare for use in foreign copyright lawsuits. In October 2025, the court granted Shueisha a request to subpoena Cloudflare for personal information of the operator behind the popular manga pirate website, Mangajikan. The magistrate judge stated that under 17 U.S.C. § 512(h)(3), information from subpoenas could only be used for the “purpose of protecting rights under this title,” meaning that the information could only be used for U.S.-based copyright claims.

The MLC and Pandora File Summary Judgment Motions in Lawsuit

On February 5, The Mechanical Licensing Collective (The MLC) and Pandora Media filed competing motions for summary judgment in the lawsuit that The MLC launched against Pandora alleging that Pandora’s ad-supported service included features like on-demand listening sessions, unlimited skips and replays, and other features that qualified the digital radio platform’s services as an “interactive service” that required mechanical royalty payments. In its motion, Pandora argues that any interactive streams are limited to its Premium Access function, which is a 30 minute window in which Pandora users can select and play music on demand over watching video ads, and that The MLC does not have statutory authority to bring enforcement actions on behalf of its members. The MLC stated that it brought the lawsuit “to ensure that our Members receive all the mechanical royalties they are due in connection with Pandora’s use of their songs.”

Ninth Circuit Vacates and Remands DMCA Safe Harbor Claims in Photographer’s Lawsuit Against Shutterstock

On February 10, a panel of three judges in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an order affirming in part and vacating in part a district court’s judgment in McGucken v. Shutterstock, directing the lower court to further analyze whether Shutterstock qualified for safe harbor protections under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for its users’ infringements. The lawsuit was brought by photographer Elliott McGucken who alleged that Shutterstock was liable for its users’ unlicensed uploading of McGucken’s photographs to Shutterstock’s stock photo marketplace and for falsifying Copyright Management Information (CMI) related to those photographs. The Ninth Circuit court stated that there were two issues that precluded summary judgment: (1) the evidence in the record was not clear as to the extent to which Shutterstock curates photographs submitted to its stock photo marketplace; and (2) the facts in the record were not clear as to whether Shutterstock’s stock image pipeline enables it to exercise substantial control over the images that appear on its platform.

Major South Korean Broadcasters Sue OpenAI for Copyright Infringement

According to reports, three major South Korean media and broadcasting companies, KBS, MBC, and SBS, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI over the unlicensed use of the companies’ news media content to train OpenAI. The companies reportedly approached OpenAI to negotiate licenses, but it refused any negotiations. The broadcasters issued a statement saying, “In a reality where individual domestic creators and copyright holders face significant barriers to filing lawsuits against global big tech companies due to litigation costs and the burden of proof, the three broadcasters have filed this lawsuit to ensure that the rights of creators and copyright holders are protected and that fair compensation is provided—not only by domestic AI companies, but also by global AI firms.”

German Court Rules in AI Copyrightability Case

On February 13, the Munich Local Court issued a judgment in which it determined that certain AI-generated logos were not protected by German copyright law because the logos did not contain sufficient human expression that could qualify the logos as the plaintiff’s original works. The plaintiff sued to enjoin a third party’s use of three logos that were generated by AI, claiming authorship and copyright protections over the logos. The court disagreed, stating that prompting an AI system to generate output may not constitute authorship for copyright protection purposes unless the author’s “human influence can sufficiently, objectively, and unambiguously identify the resulting output…in such a way that the object as a whole can be regarded as its own original creation by its author.”

UK News Media Groups Announce Coalition to Establish AI Standards and Licensing Frameworks

On February 26, executives from the BBC, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group, The Guardian, and the Financial Times penned a joint letter announcing the formation of the Standards for Publisher Usage Rights (SPUR) coalition, which aims “to establish shared technical standards and responsible licensing frameworks that ensure AI developers can access high-quality, reliable journalism in legitimate, responsible and convenient ways, while guaranteeing that publishers retain practical control of their content and receive fair value when it is used.”

WIPO Coordination Committee Nominates Daren Tang for Second Term as Director General

On February 12, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that it will nominate Daren Tang to serve a second term as Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Tang received 81 votes to secure his nomination, which will be confirmed by the WIPO General Assembly, the Paris Union Assembly, and the Berne Union Assembly, on April 21. Tang’s second term will begin October 1, 2026. 

U.S. Chamber IP Index Release

On March 12 from 9-10 a.m. ET, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will release the 14th edition of its International IP Index during a virtual event. The index will provide an in-depth look at the findings of the 2026 report, which evaluates the intellectual property (IP) environment across 55 global economies. It will also offer a comprehensive assessment of global IP frameworks, structured around 10 key categories that define an effective IP system. Key topics to be discussed during the event include global trends shaping the future of IP protection and enforcement, actionable recommendations to strengthen IP systems and foster innovation, and more. More information is available on the registration page.

WIPO AIII Initiative Launch Event

On March 17 at 5 a.m. ET, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will launch its Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Interchange (AIII) initiative on March 17 through an in-person event in Geneva and via livestream. Through AIII, WIPO aims to facilitate dialogue on the technical and operational aspects of IP systems and practical solutions in the context of AI. More information is available on the registration page.

VLANY Seminar on Financing and Distributing Independent Films

On March 26 at 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET, the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLANY) will host a two-day webinar, designed for new attorneys, attorneys transitioning to entertainment law, and filmmakers, explores how independent films are financed and distributed. The program host will be Mark Litwak, Esq., a veteran entertainment attorney and author. The event will focus on how producers and filmmakers can protect themselves, including criteria for selecting a distributor; adding contract provisions and understanding contract terms; compliance with state and federal laws regarding investors; retaining an attorney, producer rep, publicist; and confirming awards and enforcing judgments. More information is available on the registration page.

If you aren’t already a member of the Copyright Alliance, you can join today by completing our Individual Creator Members membership form! Members gain access to monthly newsletters, educational webinars, and so much more — all for free!

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