First decision to reject fair use for AI training

In Thomson Reuters v. Ross, the legal publisher sued Ross Intelligence for allegedly scraping its copyrighted legal content to train an AI legal research tool. Ross argued its use was intermediate and transformative rather than a republishing of Westlaw materials.

In February 2025 the district court rejected that defense and found infringement. It was the first decision to deny fair use for AI training, narrowing a shield many teams assumed they had. The case is now on appeal to the Third Circuit.

This page reflects current U.S. copyright law and general international principles. It is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.