Insights

Washington – August 17, 2023: The 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 47 firm lawyers as "Best Lawyers" and 41 lawyers as “Ones to Watch.”

Washington – June 26, 2023: Intellectual Asset Management recognized Crowell & Moring in its IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners guide, awarding the firm a gold band ranking as one of the top four firms handling patent litigation and transactions in Belgium, and a silver ranking for the firm’s Chicago office. The firm was also recommended nationally in the United States for trade secrets litigation. This marks the tenth consecutive year that the firm has been ranked in the guide in Belgium.

Washington – June 1, 2023: Crowell & Moring earned 82 rankings for 68 lawyers across 48 categories, as well as 37 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2023 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.

On April 10, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property convened Part III to an ongoing discussion and exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP) rights. The session, “Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: Part III - IP Protection for AI-Assisted Inventions and Creative Works,” delved into the nuanced debate over what IP protections should exist for AI-generated or AI-assisted works.

Judge William Orrick in the Northern District of California has dismissed some claims in a lawsuit brought by visual artists Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt. The artists allege that the companies misused the artist’s copyrighted works in connection with the companies’ generative artificial intelligence systems and products. Judge Orrick dismissed all allegations against Midjourney and DeviantArt, but gave Plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint. Judge Orrick also dismissed copyright infringement claims brought by McKernan, Ortiz, and others in the artists’ class who had not obtained copyright registrations, a prerequisite to filing a copyright claim, but is allowing Andersen to pursue her claim that Stability AI's use of her work to train Stable Diffusion infringed her copyrights.

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review of an 11thCircuit ruling in the case of Nealy et al. v. Warner Chappell Music Inc. et al. The issue at hand is whether a copyright plaintiff can recover damages for acts that allegedly occurred more than three years before filing the case. Specifically, the court will examine the application of the discovery accrual rule, which determines when the clock starts ticking for the statute of limitations in copyright infringement cases. Warner Chappell Music argues that a copyright plaintiff should not be able to recover damages for acts that occurred outside the three-year statute of limitations. The company aims to establish a precedent that would limit the timeframe in which copyright plaintiffs can seek additional damages.

Artificial intelligence and the metaverse are two of the most rapidly evolving technologies today, testing the boundaries of intellectual property law. While the swift expansion of AI in all industry sectors can be thrilling, it also presents challenges in terms of protecting and encouraging artistic and scientific endeavors. A principal challenge for authors, creators, and corporations is how to protect creative endeavors from the threat of consumption and reproduction by AI engines, while at the same time realizing the promise of AI-conceived and -developed creative and technological advances. This fundamental IP conundrum also arises in the evolving metaverse.