contracts

The “market” for AI contracting terms continues to evolve, and whilst there is no standardised approach (as much will depend on the use cases, technical features and commercial terms), a number of attempts have been made to put forward contracting models. One of the latest being from the EU’s Community of Practice on Public Procurement of AI, which published an updated version of its non-binding EU AI Model Contractual Clauses (“MCC-AI”) on March 5, 2025. The MCC-AI are template contractual clauses intended to be used by public organizations that procure AI systems developed by external suppliers.  An initial draft had been published in September 2023.  This latest version has been updated to align with the EU AI Act, which entered into force on August 1, 2024 but whose terms apply gradually in a staggered manner.  Two templates are available: one for public procurement of “high-risk” AI systems, and another for non-high-risk AI systems. A commentary, which provides guidance on how to use the MCC-AI, is also available.Continue Reading EU’s Community of Practice Publishes Updated AI Model Contractual Clauses

In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held that accepting a website’s terms of use through a so-called “clickwrap” agreement constitutes a signature for purposes of effecting a transfer of copyright.

The case, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. v. American Home Realty Network, Inc., revolved around photographs displayed with real estate listings.  The plaintiff, MRIS, operated an online real estate listing service.  As part of its terms of use, MRIS’s service required users to “irrevocably assign” all rights they had in any images submitted as part of a listing.  The defendant, AHRN, a real estate broker, displayed photographs taken from the plaintiff’s site on its own website.  When MRIS sued for infringement, AHRN challenged its ownership of copyrights in the photos.  The lower court rejected AHRN’s challenge, granting a preliminary injunction, and the Fourth Circuit has now affirmed.
Continue Reading Clickwrap Agreement Found Sufficient to Transfer Copyright Ownership