Apple Asks Judge to Dismiss xAI's Suit, Says OpenAI Deal Not Exclusive

Apple's deal with ChatGPT owner OpenAI is not "exclusive" and does not harm competition, Apple's lawyers said as they asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a case filed by billionaire Elon Musk's OpenAI rival xAI. Musk's xAI is seeking billions of dollars in damages, saying Apple would have no reason to more prominently feature the X app and the Grok app in its App Store because of the "exclusive" deal with OpenAI.

OpenAI's New Video Generator Would Require Copyright Owners to Opt Out

OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator that creates videos featuring copyright material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear, according to people familiar with the matter. OpenAI began alerting talent agencies and studios about the forthcoming product and its opt-out process over the past week and plans to release the new version in the coming days, the people said.

Disney Demands Character.AI Stop Using Copyrighted Characters

The Walt Disney Company sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI demanding the personalized AI chatbot developer immediately stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios. In the letter, Disney emphasizes its main concern isn't just financial, but that Character.AI's platform weaponizes Disney characters in a way that could damage its brand long term.

Foreign Ministers' Email Servers Attacked by Chinese Hackers

Suspected Chinese hackers have breached email servers of foreign ministers as part of a years-long effort targeting the communications of diplomats around the world, according to researchers at the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks Inc. Attackers accessed Microsoft Exchange email servers, gaining the ability to search for information at some foreign ministries, said the team at Unit 42, the threat intelligence division of Palo Alto Networks, which has been tracking the group for nearly three years.

California Law Requires AI Companies to Disclose Safety Protocols

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law that will force major AI companies to reveal their safety protocols — marking the end of a lobbying battle with big tech companies like ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Meta and setting the groundwork for a potential national standard. The proposal was the second attempt by the author, ambitious San Francisco Democrat and state Sen. Scott Wiener, to pass such legislation after Newsom vetoed a broader measure last year that set off an international debate.

YouTube Agrees to $24.5 Million Settlement for Suspending Trump's Account

YouTube agreed to pay a $24.5 million settlement to President Trump and others who were banned by the video streaming platform in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a legal document. The vast majority of YouTube’s settlement payment — $22 million — will go to Mr. Trump, according to the filing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He has directed that the money be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall and to the construction of a ballroom at the White House.

Chinese Hackers Linked to Campaigns Against U.S. Tech Companies, Law Firms

Suspected Chinese hackers are behind an ongoing cyberespionage campaign against U.S. technology companies and legal firms, stealing national security secrets often while remaining undetected, according to Alphabet Inc.’s Google. The hacking group, which Google tracks under the code name UNC5221, are “the most prevalent adversary in the US over the past several years” in terms of frequency, severity and complexity of incidents, said Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Google Cloud’s Mandiant consulting arm.

YouTube to Allow Reinstatement for Accounts Banned for Misinformation

YouTube will create a process to reinstate the accounts of content creators whose profiles were banned in recent years because they violated rules that limited misinformation about Covid-19 and the 2020 election. The change comes as YouTube has started relaxing its content moderation rules, increasing the threshold for offending content and modifying rules on Covid misinformation.

Indian Court Dismisses X's Challenges to Content Takedown Orders

An Indian court has dismissed an attempt by Elon Musk’s X to challenge the Indian government’s content takedown orders, ruling that the social media platform, as a foreign company, does not have a constitutional right to free speech under Indian law. The Karnataka High Court ruled in favor of the Indian government’s use of a centralized online portal to issue content takedown orders, determining that foreign platforms cannot invoke free speech protections under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.

Senators Seek Information from Match About 'Romance Scams'

Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) pressed Match Group, the parent company of the popular dating app Tinder, on dating scams. “Given Match Group’s stated commitment to improving upon its historical practices relating to user safety, we write today to request documents and information about the company’s policies, procedures, and practices related to fraudulent activity on its platforms,” the senators wrote in their letter to Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff.

Judge Considers Remedies in Advertising Antitrust Case Against Google

Google entered the final stretch of an antitrust case targeting its digital advertising monopoly, weeks after emerging largely unscathed from a similar challenge to its online search stronghold. The Justice Department and Google began a second phase of trial, arguing over what remedies U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema should order to stimulate more competition in the market for web advertising, a market that supports publishers such as news companies and allows brands to reach hundreds of millions of potential consumers.

Ransomware Attack Blamed for for Airport Disruptions in Europe

Airport disruptions that affected automated check-in systems in recent days were caused by a ransomware attack, the EU's cybersecurity agency said, highlighting the growing risks of such attacks to critical infrastructure and industries. Several of Europe's biggest airports still faced disruptions after hackers knocked out automated check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX, affecting dozens of flights and thousands of passengers.

Hacked Data from Columbia University Discloses Info on Applicants

Personal information about Columbia University students and applicants — including whether they were accepted or rejected by the school — has been stolen, according to a Bloomberg News review of data provided by a person who claimed to have hacked the school in June. The 1.6-gigabyte volume of data provided to Bloomberg represents 2.5 million applications dating back decades, according to the alleged hacker.

House Panel Wants Tech CEOs to Testify About 'Radicalization' Online

A U.S. House committee asked the CEOs of Discord, Steam, Amazon-owned Twitch and Reddit to testify at an Oct. 8 hearing following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, citing the "radicalization of online forum users." Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative student movement Turning Point USA and a key ally of President Donald Trump, was speaking at an event attended by about 3,000 people when he was gunned down.

Disney, Universal, WBD File Copyright Suit Against China's MiniMax

Walt Disney, Comcast's Universal and Warner Bros Discovery have jointly filed a copyright lawsuit against China's MiniMax alleging that its image- and video-generating service Hailuo AI was built from intellectual property stolen from the three major Hollywood studios. The suit, filed in the district court in California, claims MiniMax "audaciously" used the studios' famous copyrighted characters to market Hailuo as a "Hollywood studio in your pocket" and advertise and promote its service.

Music Publishers, Internet Archive Settle Lawsuit Over Old Recordings

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit where music publishers sued the Internet Archive over the Great 78 Project, an effort to preserve early music recordings that only exist on brittle shellac records. No details of the settlement have so far been released, but a court filing confirmed that the Internet Archive and UMG Recordings, Capitol Records, Sony Music Entertainment, and other record labels "have settled this matter."

U.S. Says China Agrees to 'Framework' for Deal to Resolve TikTok Dispute

U.S. officials said that they reached a preliminary deal with China on the fate of the social media platform TikTok that would address one of the biggest points of contention between the world’s two largest economies. Following two days of talks in Madrid, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the two sides had agreed to a “framework” for a deal to divest TikTok from its Chinese owner, ByteDance.

Nvidia Violated Antitrust Regulations in Mellanox Deal, China Rules

China ruled that Nvidia Corp. violated anti-monopoly laws with a high-profile 2020 deal, ratcheting up the pressure on Washington during sensitive trade negotiations. The U.S. chipmaker was found in violation of antitrust regulations after the acquisition of networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies Ltd., the State Administration for Market Regulation said after concluding a preliminary investigation.

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The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.