In a recent decision, In re OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litig., 2025 WL 3635559 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 15, 2025) District Court Judge Stein ruled, for the first time in AI copyright litigation, that crawling a website in violation of a robots.txs
Barry Sookman
Barry Sookman is a legal professional who publishes detailed analyses and commentary on intellectual property law, with a particular focus on copyright and trademark issues as they intersect with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. His writings often explore recent court decisions and their implications for technology law, including jurisdictional matters and licensing. He also engages with topics related to privacy, online contracting, and technology law developments in Canada. His content is aimed at legal practitioners and others interested in the evolving legal landscape surrounding technology and intellectual property.
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Getty v Stability AI: Exclusive Copyright Licences and Clickwrap Signatures
In the prior blog posts, Copyright Infringement and AI: Insights from Getty v StabiliyAI Trademark Infringement and AI: the Getty and Cohere cases, I summarized the landmark decision in Getty Images (US) Inc v Stability AI Limited [2025] EWHC…
OpenAI Toronto Star jurisdiction decision
An Ontario court just released an important decision refusing to dismiss a copyright, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract claims brought by the Toronto Star and other newspaper publishers against OpenAI for lack of jurisdiction. In Toronto Star Newspapers…
Trademark Infringement and AI: the Getty and Cohere cases
In a prior blog post on the landmark decision in Getty Images (US) Inc v Stability AI Limited [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch), I summarized the U.K. court’s decision finding that Stability AI was not liable for secondary copyright infringement by importing…
Copyright Infringement and AI: Insights from Getty v Stability AI
In a landmark decision released yesterday in Getty Images (US) Inc v Stability AI Limited [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch), a United Kingdom court ruled that Stability AI was not liable for secondary copyright infringement by importing or distributing models that were…
Technology Law Updates from the CAN-TECH Conference
I was pleased to speak on October 24 at the Canadian Technology Law Association (CAN-TECH) Fall Conference in Toronto. CAN-TECH is the national association representing Canadian technology lawyers. I participated in a panel alongside Catherine Lovrics (Marks & Clerk LLP)…
Contracts, Personal Jurisdiction and Electronic Agreements
Most contracts contain clauses that govern both choice of law and venue for resolving disputes. However, there are occasions where questions arise as to where a contract is formed, especially in cases where the personal jurisdiction over a person is…
Tiktok Privacy Decision: A Major Compliance Warning
You may be in for an unpleasant surprise when you read the September 23, 2025 findings of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) in PIPEDA Findings # 2025-003. The decision, issued jointly with the OPC counterparts…
Canada Right to Be Forgotten and Search Engines
Late last month, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC” or “Commissioner”) released a report of its findings holding that search engines like Google can be required to de-list personal information about an individual. While the decision generally aligns Canada’s federal…
What Are NFTs and Are NFTs Goods Under Trademark Law? A Key Ruling from the U.S. Ninth Circuit
New technologies frequently challenge existing legal frameworks, and few innovations have sparked more legal debate than those related to blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Two of the most common legal and commercial questions are: What are NFTs? and Are NFTs…