Reuters reports the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Stephen Thaler’s appeal seeking copyright protection for a work generated entirely by an AI system, leaving lower-court rulings in place that require human authorship for U.S. copyright. It keeps “human authorship” as a gating requirement for registering and litigating AI-output copyright claims (and pushes commercial strategy toward human contribution and documentation).

The Financial Times reports five major UK media groups have formed a coalition to develop shared standards and licensing frameworks aimed at controlling and monetising AI use of publisher content.

U.S. diplomats ordered to resist data sovereignty rules. A February 18 diplomatic cable instructs U.S. envoys to counter foreign data localisation and sovereignty initiatives that could restrict cross‑border flows for AI and cloud services, framing such measures as burdensome and risky for cybersecurity and civil liberties (Reuters)

ABC News reports Australia has scrapped a planned permanent AI Advisory Body after months of work, prompting concern that delays and shifts away from mandatory guardrails may narrow the window to put durable safety oversight in place.