Book Deals by Four Justices Leave Supreme Court Copyright Case Without Quorum

In a recent development, four justices of the Supreme Court—Sotomayor, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson—recused themselves from a case related to foreign music copyrights, resulting in a lack of quorum. The court did not provide a reason for their withdrawal, but the organization Fix the Court pointed out that all four have book contracts with Penguin Random House, a participant in the case. Meanwhile, a law firm representing over 2,200 authors, including Jacqueline Winspear, known for her Maisie Dobbs series, is filing individual lawsuits against Meta, aiming for up to $150,000 per work, significantly higher than the $3,000 per work from the Anthropic class settlement. In Canada, publisher Boréal severed ties with Haitian Canadian author Thélyson Orélien after an external review found AI tags in his drafts, which he disputes. Owl & Co. reported that AI constituted 3 percent of vertical microdrama releases outside China in Q1, 28 percent in Q2, and two-thirds in Q3. Lastly, Opera Australia's partnership with Haruhisa Handa's foundation, which donated over $15 million, will end on December 31; Aida will return to the harbour in March under the HSBC name. Judi Dench, 91, shared with BBC Radio 4 that macular degeneration has hindered her ability to read, act, or recognize faces, yet she remains "besotted by" Shakespeare's sonnets.