AI Training On Trial: The Next Legal Frontier In Copyright Law

Key Takeaways

• Fundamental legal questions about the use of copyrighted materials for training AI models are being litigated in Canada and the U.S.
• Pending cases and government consultations will allow courts and Parliament to clarify how Canada's copyright law applies to AI training and modernize the Copyright Act.
• Organizations developing or building on AI models should audit the datasets and sources used for training and monitor legal developments expected in 2026.

The recent rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has raised fundamental legal questions regarding whether and how copyrighted materials may lawfully be used to train these technologies. Training refers to the process by which AI systems learn from vast datasets, often containing copyrighted text or images, to develop their capabilities and generate new outputs.