April 23, World Book and Copyright Day, reminds us each year of the importance of creativity, knowledge, and cultural diversity. On this occasion, we wish to highlight one of the most pressing modern challenges for copyright law – artificial intelligence (AI).
On Friday, 4 April 2025, the European Final of the world-renowned EU law competition – the European Law Moot Court (ELMC) – concluded at the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. The competition is organized by the ELMC Society, which brings together students from across the globe to engage with complex issues of EU law. Among the best young legal minds of Europe and the world stood Mark Bauer, Research Assistant at the Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute ODIPI, who competed as a member of the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law team.
“None of Ross [Intelligence]’s possible defenses holds water. I reject them all,” wrote US Circuit Court Judge in a summary judgement, which (for now) cannot be appealed until all claims are decided. Developers of generative artificial intelligence (AI) who train their models on third-party content rely on the doctrine of “fair use” in the United States of America (USA), arguing that their activities do not infringe copyright. However, the startup company Ross Intelligence failed to convince the US District Court of Delaware that using content from the legal research platform Westlaw – which is a part of the Thomson Reuters conglomerate – constitutes fair use and does not violate copyright.
In an article by Jurij Kristan for the newspaper Delo, published on February 24, 2025, in the Infoteh section, Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič emphasized the importance of the new European legislative direction. As she pointed out, the European Commission is “for the first time in history announcing that it will adopt legislation, the European Research Area Act (ERA Act), which will address some problems from the perspective of researchers so that research is not merely an observer”.
At its 7th Assembly session, held on 31 January 2025 in a hybrid format at the University of Ljubljana and via Zoom, the Slovenian Open Science Community (SSOZ) established a new Expert Body for Legal Issues Related to Copyright and Data Governance. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič (ODIPI) was appointed as the head of this Expert Body, contributing her extensive expertise and experience to the understanding and development of legal frameworks for Open Science in Slovenia.
At its 7th Assembly session, held on January 31, 2025, in a hybrid format at the University of Ljubljana and via Zoom, the Slovenian Open Science Community (SSOZ) appointed a new Expert Council of the SSOZ. Among the newly appointed members is Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič (ODIPI), whose extensive expertise and experience significantly contribute to the development of Open Science in Slovenia.
On February 11, 2025, Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič presented at the “Consultation on Copyright Aspects of Research Results” event, organized by the SPOZNAJ project. During the event, she delivered a presentation on the topic of “Rights Management in Research Results” and answered questions from various stakeholders in the scientific research community.
On December 3, 2024, the “Knowledge Rights 21 Regional Alliance – Network of Librarians and Copyright Experts from Central and Southeastern Europe”, was officially established at a meeting hosted at the Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Hotel. The event was organized by Open Data and Intellectual Property Institute ODIPI and chaired by Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič.