In 2026, legal fights over how artificial intelligence systems use copyrighted material are reaching a critical stage in the United States, with several high-profile court cases testing whether AI training qualifies as fair use. As AI models increasingly rely on vast datasets — including books, articles, music, and images — publishers, authors, and artists are challenging tech companies, arguing that using protected works without permission or compensation infringes intellectual property rights. This year’s rulings could set far-reaching precedents for how AI can be developed and deployed.
At the center of the dispute is the question of whether feeding copyrighted content into AI training pipelines constitutes a transformative use that courts should protect under fair use. Tech firms contend that ingesting large swaths of public and private works enables models to learn language patterns and generate new content, and they argue that this function doesn’t replace or compete with the original works. Rights holders, however, argue that this broad ingestion harms their ability to control and monetize their creations, and that transformative claims shouldn’t automatically shield AI developers from licensing obligations.
Several cases moving through federal courts will be closely watched for how judges interpret long-standing copyright principles in the context of modern AI. Some rulings may clarify whether dataset creation and model training fall under fair use when models don’t output verbatim text but can generate material that closely resembles the style or substance of protected works. The outcomes could influence not only future litigation but also commercial practices around dataset curation, licensing agreements, and transparency obligations for AI companies.
Beyond the courtroom, the debate is spurring legislative interest as well. Lawmakers are looking at potential updates to copyright law to explicitly address AI training, creation, and compensation frameworks. Rights holders, tech advocates, and policy experts are pushing various proposals — from mandatory royalty systems to opt-out registries — in an effort to strike a balance between fostering innovation and protecting creative industries. The decisions made in 2026 are likely to shape the rules of the road for AI and intellectual property for years to come.
