• by Ray Schultz , July 19, 2023

Media mogul Barry Diller reiterated that he and other top publishers are prepared to take legal action over use of copyrighted works to train AI systems. 

Diller, the chair of Dotdash Meredith parent IAC, said on TV this week that tech firms like Google and Microsoft claim the “the fair use doctrine of copyright law allows them to suck up all this stuff,” according to The Hill.  

He added, “Of course, say we’re open to commercial agreements. But on the side of those people who are depending upon advertising, Google, for instance, they say, ‘Yes, we’ll give you a revenue share. Right now, the revenue share is zero. So, what percent of zero would you like today?” 

There was no word on when and where such an action might be filed.  

But this is not Diller’s first such comment. In April, Diller said he was working with News Corp and Axel Springer to protect their journalism from the AI threat. 

“We are leading a group that is going to say we are going to change copyright law if necessary, to work to say that you cannot take our materials or we will litigate,” Diller said, speaking at the Sir Harry Evans Global Summit in Investigative Journalism in London, according to Financial Times. “What you publish you have the right to control.”