ABSTRACT

‘New computer algorithms are capable of taking data-heavy input, such as stock prices, and outputting paragraphs of prose that read like traditional journalism stories. Such programs have recently been adopted by top media outlets, including Bloomberg and the Associated Press, for generating stories in some contexts. Given that such technology is a departure from traditional print media reporting, it is unclear whether its implications are adequately addressed by standing jurisprudence in the realms of mass media and copyright law. In general, those areas of law for which courts have developed strong abstract or conceptual frameworks are more easily applied to new technologies.’

Lin Weeks lays out questions for case law when news writing is automated. She wrote the paper while a J.D. candidate at NYU.

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Weeks, L., (2014), ‘Media Law and Copyright Implications of Automated Journalism,’ Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law, Vol. 4, No. 1, New York University