ASSOCIATE DEAN DARYL LIM WEIGHS IN ON AI COPYRIGHT BATTLES
December 2024 — In comments to the Capitol Forum, Associate Dean Daryl Lim highlighted the potential implications of the 1990s Ninth Circuit decision in MAI Systems Corporation v. Peak Computer, Inc. for ongoing copyright disputes involving generative AI. Associate Dean Lim noted that the case established that even temporary copies stored in RAM could constitute copyright infringement, a precedent that could shape how courts address AI training practices. While newer rulings like Cartoon Network v. CSC Holdings introduce complexities regarding what qualifies as a “fixed” copy, Lim argues that the iterative and prolonged nature of AI training could meet this threshold, potentially leaving AI firms vulnerable to infringement claims. The evolving legal landscape may prompt Congress to clarify the application of copyright law to AI, mirroring past legislative responses to MAI Systems.
Daryl Lim is the H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. He is also the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Founding Director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Innovation Initiative. At the university level, he is a co-hire at the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences and an affiliate at the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence.
Professor Lim is an award-winning author, observer, and commentator on national and global trends in IP and competition policy and how they influence and are influenced by law, technology, economics, and politics. He helps policymakers, attorneys, corporate counsel, scholars, and the public understand the world around them. He is a founding member of the Global IP Alliance and its local chapters in Pennsylvania and Illinois. In addition, he serves as Co-Chair of the University Education Committee in the US IP Alliance. In December 2022, the American Law Institute elected Professor Lim to its membership based on demonstrated excellence and outstanding professional achievement. In 2023, the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recognized him as “a leading expert in antitrust law and economics” and the IAM Strategy 300, a guide to the industry pioneers with “exceptional skill sets, as well as profound insights into the development, creation, and management of IP value,” named him to its World’s Leading IP Strategists 2023 list. In 2024, he was appointed to the consultative group advising the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.