Authors' lucky break in court may help class action over Meta torrenting
Judge gave authors an easier attack on Meta’s torrenting. Meta hopes SCOTUS ruling will block it.
TL;DR
- Meta is using a Supreme Court ruling on ISP liability to fight claims that it illegally torrented AI training data.
- A judge allowed authors to add a contributory infringement claim to a class action lawsuit against Meta.
- This claim is easier to prove than direct copyright infringement as it focuses on Meta facilitating torrent transfers.
- Meta argues it did not "affirmatively induce infringement," while plaintiffs assert Meta's knowledge of torrenting's nature is sufficient.
- A judge criticized the authors' lawyers for delays but reluctantly allowed the claim to proceed to protect class members' interests.
- The ruling potentially lowers the bar for authors to prove Meta facilitated copyright infringement.