Third Circuit affirms Ross infringed, dodges the AI question everyone wanted
Ross lost 2,243 headnotes and its business four years before ChatGPT even launched, yet both sides of the AI copyright fight are calling the ruling a win
Here's what actually happened under all the victory laps: a unanimous Third Circuit panel affirmed that Ross infringed 2,243 Westlaw headnotes and rejected its fair use defense, full stop. The court never ruled on generative AI training at all — Ross's tool just searched and returned text, it didn't generate anything. So when the Authors Guild and the Chamber of Progress both claim this proves their side right, read that as a sign the actual legal question for generative AI training is still wide open, not settled in your favor or against you.
Why it matters to you: The one AI-copyright appellate ruling on the books doesn't touch generative AI training at all, so authors suing over tools like ChatGPT still have no binding precedent either way.
This story ran in the Coral Wire edition of Tue, Oct 6 2026, when the Coral Index stood at 23/100 (Storm warning).
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- Everyone Won the Ross Fair Use Appeal. Except Ross. | Copyright Latelycopyrightlately.com
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