Meta Versus Authors, JSW Steel’s Review Petition, And More

 “I am happy to say that when I came into Collegium I tried to do merit-based elevation, be it in the Supreme Court or the High Court…Only see how the candidate is, whether he qualifies or not, whether his integrity is good or not. He knows the laws well or not. Only that is seen”
-CJI BR Gavai said at Advocates’ Association of Bombay High Court Bench in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly known as Aurangabad)

LLMs vs Publishers: Biting the Hands That Feed You
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has prevailed in a copyright lawsuit filed by a group of authors who accused the company of using their books without permission to train its AI models. A US district judge in San Francisco Meta's use of the authors' works fell under the "fair use" provisions of copyright law, which permits certain uses of protected works without permission.

This raises an important question: Could we soon face a chicken-and-egg situation in the evolving landscape of AI? Large Language Models currently rely on vast amounts of content from media companies, whether it’s books, news journals, or articles, to train their models. However, if the future unfolds as predicted, where people primarily gather their information from LLMs, this could spell the demise of many traditional publications. In this scenario, media outlets would lose their audiences to AI-driven content, cutting into their advertisement revenues, subscriptions, and overall business models.

But here’s the real dilemma: If LLMs are built on content from these publications, how will they continue to train their models, especially current affairs, when traditional media were to shutter down? The ability of AI to stay relevant and provide accurate, timely information could be at risk. For this to work long-term, LLMs would need to find a way to sustain the very content creators who supply them with data. This could mean revenue-sharing agreements with publishers, a concept that is currently far from being realised. Without this, the future of LLM training could face a massive knowledge gap, all while contributing to the decline of the very institutions they depend on for content. It's a precarious balancing act that will likely define the future of both AI and traditional media.

The Week That Was
Key Rulings

• Supreme Court has held that a business has fundamental right to close down its operations but must follow due process under India’s labour laws while doing so.
• The Bombay High Court has ruled that the shares owned by Ratan Tata, that didn’t find a mention in his will, will be equally inherited by Ratan Tata Endowment Foundation and Ratan Tata Endowment Trust

Courts 

• Kirloskar group companies have petitioned the Bombay High Court challenging the validity of the recent amendments to the SEBI disclosure rules.
• JSW Steel has filed its review petition in the Supreme Court against the top court ruling that rejected the company’s bid for Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd and ordered for its liquidation instead.
• Bombay High Court has barred Zee Hygiene Products from using packaging and trade dress for its product that was deceptively similar to Marico’s Parachute coconut oil.
• The trust operating Lilavati Hospital petitions the Bombay High Court to transfer probe against HDFC Bank MD & CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan to the CBI

Quasi Courts

• SEBI imposes a fine of 2.5 million rupees on BSE for flouting regulatory norms pertaining to access to disclosures

The Big Listings
Jul 2: Delhi local court to hold daily hearings in National Herald Case against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
Jul 7: Madras High Court to hear Celebi’s petition for protection as regards Chennai airport while arbitration proceedings are underway
Aug 1: NCLT’s principal bench is scheduled to hear BPSL’s former promoter’s plea for initiating liquidation in line with top court’s order
Aug 20: Supreme Court to hear Flipkart’s appeal against a high court which affirmed CCI probe into the company
* The dates of hearing can change and a concrete list is prepared just a day before

Legal Moves 

• Tandon & Co. and Aretha Legal announce merger. The merged entity will have a national presence and will operate as a multi-service firm.
• Sumit Khandaria launches Fiscal Law Chambers in New Delhi with a focus on financial matters
• Jaishree Tolani leaves AZB to join Godfrey Philips India as General Counsel
• Debasmita Gupta joins Himatsingka Group as General Counsel
• Shujath Bin Ali joins Fourth Partner Energy as Chief Legal Officer
• Vara Gaur joins Saga Legal as Partner
• S&G Partners announces annual promotions
• Ambalika Banerjjee joins Unilever as Director for Trademarks and Brand Protection