In 2025, the intersection of AI and law has become a turbulent frontier for developers. From landmark rulings on AI training data to debates over the ownership of AI-generated content, the law is on a potential collision course with AI in software development.
This talk, led by Ryan Roemer—a former IP attorney turned engineering leader—digs into a few of the most significant legal areas including:
- Training Data & Fair Use: Examining cases like Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence, where courts have challenged the assumption that training AI models on copyrighted material qualifies as fair use.
- Ownership of AI-Generated Content: Discussing formal government direction as well as decisions such as Thaler v. Perlmutter, which affirm that works created solely by AI are not eligible for copyright protection.
- The Evolving Definition of "Open Source" in AI: Exploring how terms like "open weights" and "open data" complicate traditional understandings of open source within the AI domain.
Attendees will gain insights into how these legal shifts impact the JavaScript and open source communities, equipping them to navigate the evolving landscape where code meets law.