No 'Fair Use' Defense For Using Copyrighted Works For Training AI Models

On February 11, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granted summary judgment in favor of Thomson Reuters in Thomson Reuters Enterprise Centre GmbH v. Ross Intelligence Inc.¹ holding that use of copyrighted works to train AI models does not fall under the 'fair use' exception.

A. Background and Facts of the Case.

Thomson Reuters ("Reuters") owns Westlaw, one of the biggest legal research platforms. Westlaw not only reproduces copies of judgments and statutes but also provides editorial content including 'headnotes' that summarize the key aspects of a case. Westlaw also organizes its content by using a proprietary classification system that organizes content by topic and sub-topic and assigns each case, topic and sub-topic with a unique number. Westlaw's proprietary numerical taxonomy is called 'the Key Number System'.