Westlaw and ROSS Battle Over UpCodes Ruling in AI Copyright Appeal
Thomson Reuters and ROSS both cite the recent UpCodes ruling in their AI copyright appeal briefs.
Why it matters: The use of legal content to train AI tools raises high-stakes questions for law firms, software providers, and researchers. How courts apply copyright rules will shape legal tech innovation and risk management.
- Both parties filed briefs May 11 analyzing the UpCodes decision for their arguments.
- ROSS claims UpCodes supports fair use and would allow AI training on legal data.
- Thomson Reuters argues UpCodes is irrelevant—AI training is commercial, not transformative.
- Oral arguments at the Third Circuit are set for June 11, 2026.
Thomson Reuters and ROSS Intelligence are fighting over whether using legal database content for AI training infringes copyright, with both sides now pointing to the American Society for Testing & Materials v. UpCodes, Inc. ruling for support.
- On May 11, both parties submitted briefs responding to an April order from the Third Circuit, asking how the recent UpCodes decision applies.
- The UpCodes case found that publishing technical standards incorporated into law may qualify as fair use. Here, ROSS says its use of Westlaw headnotes for AI training is also a fair use—transforming existing content for new research tools.
- By contrast, Thomson Reuters says the AI training wasn’t “transformative”—meaning it didn’t create a new function or purpose, but rather copied content for direct competition. They cite the district court’s finding that ROSS acted for commercial advantage, not for new expression or utility.
To clarify, “transformative use” in copyright means repurposing or adding new meaning to a work, rather than just copying it for the same use. The district court in this case decided ROSS’s actions didn’t meet that standard. In Judge Bibas’s words, "The public has no right to Thomson Reuters’s parsing of the law. Copyrights encourage people to develop things that help society, like good legal-research tools. Their builders earn the right to be paid accordingly." (Jenner client alert).
Oral arguments are scheduled for June 11, 2026, when the Third Circuit will weigh if and how the UpCodes precedent should shape AI and legal copyright boundaries.
By the numbers:
- June 11, 2026 — Scheduled date for oral arguments in the Third Circuit appeal
- May 11, 2026 — Date both parties filed briefs on UpCodes ruling
What's next: The Third Circuit will hear oral arguments and could set new precedent on AI training and legal database copyright as early as June 11, 2026.