On Tuesday, (a) US District Court … issued a partial summary judgment in favor of Thomson Reuters in its copyright infringement lawsuit against Ross Intelligence, a legal AI startup. Filed in 2020, it’s one of the first cases (to) deal with the legality of AI tools and how they are trained." - The Verge
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $32 million line-item vetoes stripped away funding for local theater groups, arts festivals, museums and more, sparking outrage in Florida last year. Now, a House work group is one of several convening to review line-item vetoes from the 2024-25 budget DeSantis signed last year. - Florida Politics
The new N.E.A. rules require applicants to agree not to operate diversity programs “that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and call on grant applicants to pledge not to use federal funds to “promote gender ideology.”
In the complaint, Thomson Reuters claimed the AI firm reproduced materials from its legal research firm Westlaw. Today, a judge ruled in Thomson Reuters’ favor, finding that the company’s copyright was indeed infringed by Ross Intelligence’s actions. - Wired
"The City Council voted 8-2 on Monday to become part of a new governance system for distributing millions in arts grants that will also include Mecklenburg County, the Foundation for the Carolinas and the group formerly known as the Arts and Science Council." - The Charlotte Observer
The Kennedy Center board of trustees voted Wednesday afternoon to install President Donald Trump as chairman of the board, cementing the plan Trump announced Friday to overhaul the storied arts institution with him at its helm. It also voted to terminate Deborah Rutter as president. - Washington Post (MSN)
In practical terms, this means that every $1 million grant given to a school could have been transformed, at the stroke of midnight, into one that’s worth about $700,000. Imagine if your income, or the revenue for your business, was cut by nearly 30 percent, all at once. - The Atlantic
Every arts organization has been touched by the flames in one way or another. Administrators are now assessing what the future looks like, as well as how audiences and, crucially, donors will respond. - San Francisco Classical Voice
The NEA says applicants for all grants must follow "all applicable executive orders" from the White House. The guidelines state that applicants "will not operate any programs promoting" DEI or use federal funds "to promote gender ideology." - NPR
"Los Angeles Unified officials repeatedly violated Proposition 28 — a state law requiring the hiring of arts teachers — misusing millions in state funds and denying promised arts instruction to students across the school system, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed Monday." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
"The budget cuts ... will axe €150 million in the Ministry of Culture's funding, leaving museums, theatres, and festivals reeling. And it’s not just the central government making cuts – local councils have been stripped of €2.2 billion in state subsidies, prompting them to slash their own arts funding by (up to) 70%." - Euronews
Many creators of important cultural works sell (or give away) their interests early on, when the value of their efforts is still unknown and unknowable. Authors now have the unequivocal and unwaivable right to terminate any assignment after a certain number of years. For most authors, it’s 35 years after the assignment was made. - Variety
Trump, who has shown little interest in or knowledge of the arts before, has indicated that he wants to be more than an advocate or patron; he apparently wants a veto over content at one of the country’s preeminent cultural institutions. - Washington Post
“So we took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing and various other things,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday evening, adding, “But we have, I guess, a whole new group of people going in." - Washington Post
“As a headhunter for large performing arts centers, don’t you think it will be difficult recruiting the next CEO to the Kennedy Center now that Trump is taking on the Chairmanship?” My irreverent but scarily realistic answer is, “There are plenty of people at Fox News who would be perfect for the job.” - Berkshire Edge
