Canadian legal information database sues company behind AI chatbot for copyright infringement
The Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) has taken legal action against the creators of an AI chatbot for allegedly violating its terms of service. CanLII claims that the AI chatbot scraped its database in bulk, infringing on its copyrighted work and terms of use.
CanLII, which is funded by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and established in 2001, provides a platform for accessing case decisions, legislation, law books, and commentary from across the country. According to CanLII's website, their mission is to make legal information more accessible to the public.
Lawsuit Details
In the lawsuit filed in the B.C. Supreme Court, CanLII alleges that Caseway AI, the company behind the chatbot, engaged in bulk and systematic downloading and scraping of approximately 3.5 million records from CanLII's database. Caseway AI, launched recently, aims to enhance legal research tools and improve access to justice for non-lawyers.
CanLII argues that its work on court records, such as adding hyperlinks and correcting errors, constitutes protected copyrighted work. The lawsuit claims that Caseway AI did not comply with a cease-and-desist letter sent by CanLII, which led to the legal action.
Legal Dispute and Responses
While Caseway AI has not responded in court, the company stated that its objective is aligned with improving access to legal information, similar to CanLII's purpose. The company expressed surprise at CanLII's aggressive stance and stated its willingness to collaborate.
According to Caseway AI, the legal information provided by CanLII is publicly available elsewhere, and the chatbot did not use any proprietary enhancements from CanLII's database. The company disputes CanLII's claims of damages and asserts that its services remain unaffected by the lawsuit.
Despite the ongoing legal dispute, CanLII seeks injunctions against Caseway AI to prevent the use of the scraped material. The legal action also includes a request for punitive and exemplary damages for the alleged harm caused by the bulk downloading.
