For years, AI developers operated on a simple assumption: if content was publicly accessible online, it could be scraped, processed, and used to train AI systems. That assumption is now at the centre of one of the most consequential legal battles in the technology industry.
The issue is no longer limited to large foundation model companies. Enterprises deploying Generative AI systems, procurement teams integrating third-party AI tools, legal departments approving AI workflows, and boards overseeing digital transformation are now exposed to the same risk chain. Regulators, publishers, creators, and courts are drawing a distinction between content that is “available” and content that is “licensed.”
