Getty v. Stability AI (UK case): Getty Images has dropped its core copyright claims against Stability AI in the UK, narrowing a closely watched legal battle over how AI models are trained. The lawsuit, filed in London, initially accused Stability, the company behind Stable Diffusion, of using millions of copyrighted images without permission and generating outputs that resembled Getty content, sometimes with visible watermarks.
Those claims were withdrawn this week, with Getty citing weak evidence and jurisdictional challenges. Legal experts say the move reflects the difficulty of applying U.K. copyright law to AI training done abroad and of proving that AI outputs substantially copy original works.
The case continues, however, with Getty now focusing on secondary liability (for copyright infringement) and trademark claims. At the same time, Getty’s stateside case is still underway.
Bartz v. Anthropic: A federal court in California handed down a critical decision in a copyright lawsuit over the training of a generative AI model. In a decision issued on June 23, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California sided with Anthropic in part, finding that while the generative AI company’s use of copyrighted books to train its large language models may qualify as fair use, its acquisition and storage of pirated digital copies does not.
Kadrey v. Meta Platforms: A federal judge in California sided with Meta Platforms on Wednesday, granting summary judgment on key copyright claims brought by a group of prominent authors, including Richard Kadrey and Sarah Silverman. The authors alleged that Meta infringed their rights by using copies of their books – sourced from “shadow libraries” – to train its LLMs. But the court found that while Meta had indeed copied their works, the plaintiffs failed to show that the use was not protected by fair use.
Judge Vince Chhabria emphasized that although using copyrighted materials to train generative AI may often violate copyright law, courts must base rulings on the factual record – not broad concerns. Here, he concluded that Meta’s use was highly transformative, that Llama does not reproduce substantial portions of the plaintiffs’ works, and that the plaintiffs offered no evidence of meaningful market harm.
Their most viable theory – that AI-generated works would dilute the market for their own – was barely developed and unsupported by data, according to the court.
The case continues on narrower grounds, including unresolved claims of unauthorized distribution.
This week, Bain & Company and eBay released a joint report that dove into the transformative potential of Digital Product Passports (“DPPs”) – and what they mean for the future of value creation across retail, resale, and consumer engagement.
Introduced as part of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, DPPs are poised to become mandatory for many product categories by 2027, with near-universal adoption expected by 2030. But as Bain and eBay argue, these digital records offer a profound opportunity for brands, resale platforms, and consumers alike to unlock new streams of value – especially in the fast-growing secondhand economy.
At their core, DPPs provide a digital record of a product’s origin, materials, usage, and ownership history. For consumers, this means one-click access to sustainability data, care instructions, and resale options. For brands, it means the emergence of a new metric: product lifetime value – a measure that could double the return on each product while transforming how businesses engage with customers long after the initial sale.
Bain and eBay argue that DPPs open up powerful new value-creation opportunities …
> Buyback and Repurchase Programs: With end-to-end visibility into a product’s condition, history, and authenticity, brands can confidently launch trade-in and resale programs. These initiatives not only extend product lifespans but also enable brands to re-capture value from the secondhand market – a space traditionally dominated by third-party platforms.
> Ownership Tracking and Authentication: Particularly for luxury, collectible, and high-value items, DPPs serve as a verifiable chain of custody. This level of traceability builds consumer trust, preserves resale value, and gives brands direct access to secondary owners – often previously invisible to the brand.
> Customer Insight and Acquisition Opportunities: As products change hands, brands gain a window into secondary market behaviors: what’s reselling, who’s buying, and why. These insights can inform design, pricing, and inventory strategies and help brands reach entirely new customer segments, including buyers who’ve never shopped the brand firsthand.
> Enhanced Customer Experiences: Each consumer interaction with a DPP – whether scanning a tag, viewing a care guide, or initiating resale – creates data. Analyzed correctly, this enables brands to offer personalized services, targeted content, and highly relevant marketing, deepening loyalty and lifetime engagement.
> Post-Purchase Services: DPP data makes it easier to deliver ongoing value through automated warranty management, maintenance alerts, service extensions, and exclusive perks. These touchpoints transform products into long-term service platforms, building stickiness across the ownership lifecycle.
> Circularity and Lifecycle Monetization: By facilitating resale, repair, and refurbishment, DPPs help brands operationalize circular business models. They support deeper collaboration with resale platforms and unlock ancillary revenue opportunities tied to product longevity – from certified pre-owned programs to branded repair services.
Consumers stand to benefit the most, capturing up to 65% of the added value DPPs enable, especially as resale becomes more seamless, trusted, and profitable. But brands that move early can create competitive moats by integrating DPPs not only into their compliance efforts but into product design, marketing, CRM, and sustainability strategies.
Backed by insights from eBay and informed by leading-edge examples from Dior, Louis Vuitton, Save The Duck, and others, this report asserts that DPPs are not just a regulatory checkbox, they are a strategic lever to shape the future of commerce, consumption, and customer connection.
Also on the recommerce front, U.S. Reps. Sydney Kamlager‑Dove (D‑CA‑37) and Nicole Malliotakis (R‑NY‑11) launched the bipartisan Recommerce Caucus this week to champion America’s fast-growing secondhand economy. The caucus aims to shape federal policy that empowers small sellers, improves digital marketplace access, and strengthens sustainability through resale, refurbishment, and repurposing of pre‑owned goods.
Why it matters: The global recommerce market is projected to reach $1.04 trillion by 2035 – already embraced by over half of U.S. consumers.
Major platforms and resale leaders – including eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, Depop, Mercari, OfferUp, Pinterest, Redbubble, and the American Circular Textiles and PASS Coalitions – are lending strong support.
In their own words: “Recommerce is more than a trend – it’s a growing economic engine that provides consumers with affordable, high‑quality goods and gives entrepreneurs, small businesses and resellers access to trusted, thriving marketplaces,” said Rep. Kamlager‑Dove.
“Poshmark is proud to support the Recommerce Caucus, an initiative that aligns perfectly with our mission of putting people at the heart of commerce, empowering everyone to thrive. As a member of the PASS Coalition, we understand the positive impact policy can have on the secondhand market, and we look forward to collaborating with the Caucus to champion policies that support innovation and growth of entrepreneurship across the country,” said Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Poshmark.
Key Caucus Priorities …
The Bottom Line: The Recommerce Caucus reflects a growing bipartisan commitment to nurturing a sustainable, equitable circular economy. By bringing federal policy into alignment with market realities, it seeks to unlock new opportunities for entrepreneurs, consumers, and the planet alike.