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On Dec. 9, OpenAI made its artificial intelligence video generation model Sora publicly available in the U.S. and other countries.

Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images

The U.K. is drawing up measures to regulate the use of copyrighted content by tech companies to train their artificial intelligence models.

The British government on Tuesday kicked off a consultation which aims to increase clarity for both the creative industries and AI developers when it comes to both how intellectual property is obtained and then used by AI firms for training purposes.

Some artists and publishers are unhappy with the way their content is being scraped freely by companies like OpenAI and Google to train their large language models — AI models trained on huge quantities of data to generate humanlike responses.

Large language models are the foundational technology behind today’s generative AI systems, including the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude.

Last year, The New York Times brought a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI accusing the companies of infringing its copyright and abusing intellectual property to train large language models.

In response, OpenAI disputed the NYT’s allegations, stating that the use of open web data for training AI models should be considered “fair use” and that it provides an “opt-out” for rights holders “because it’s the right thing to do.”

Separately, image distribution platform Getty Images sued another generative AI firm, Stability AI, in the U.K., accusing it of scraping millions of images from its websites without consent to train its Stable Diffusion AI model. Stability AI has disputed the suit, noting that the training and development of its model took place outside the U.K.

Proposals to be considered

First, the consultation will consider making an exception to copyright law for AI training when used in the context of commercial purposes but while still allowing rights holders to reserve their rights so they can control the use of their content.

Second, the consultation will put forward proposed measures to help creators license and be remunerated for the use of their content by AI model makers, as well as give AI developers clarity over what material can be used for training their models.

The government said more work needs to be done by both the creative industries and technology firms to ensure any standards and requirements for rights reservation and transparency are effective, accessible and widely adopted.

The government is also considering proposals that would require AI model makers to be more transparent about their model training datasets and how they’re obtained so that rights holders can understand when and how their content has been used to train AI.

That could prove controversial — technology firms aren’t especially forthcoming when it comes to the data that fuels their coveted algorithms or how they train them up, given the commercial sensitivities involved in revealing those secrets to potential competitors.

Previously, under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the government attempted to agree a voluntary AI copyright code of practice.

AI copyright rules: U.K. versus U.S.

In a recent interview with CNBC, the boss of app development software firm Appian said he thinks the U.K. is well placed to be the “global leader on this issue.”

“The U.K. has put a stake in the ground declaring its prioritization of personal intellectual property rights,” Matt Calkins, Appian’s CEO, told CNBC. He cited 2018’s Data Protection Act as an example of how the U.K. is “closely associated with intellectual property rights.”

The U.K. is also not “subject to the same overwhelming lobbying blitz from domestic AI leaders that the U.S. is,” Calkins added — meaning it might not be as prone to bowing down to pressure from tech giants as politicians stateside.

“In the U.S., anybody who writes a law about AI is going to hear from Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft or Google before that bill even reaches the floor,” Calkins said.

“That’s a powerful force stopping anyone from writing sensible legislation or protecting the rights of individuals whose intellectual property is being taken wholesale by these major AI players.”

The issue of potential copyright infringement by AI firms is becoming more notable as tech firms are moving toward a more “multimodal” form of AI — that is, AI systems that can understand and generate content in the form of images and video as well as text.

Last week, OpenAI made its AI video generation model Sora publicly available in the U.S. and “most countries internationally.” The tool allows a user to type out a desired scene and produce a high-definition video clip.

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Perplexity launches AI-powered web browser for select group of subscribers

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Perplexity launches AI-powered web browser for select group of subscribers

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Perplexity AI on Wednesday launched a new artificial intelligence-powered web browser called Comet in the startup’s latest effort to compete in the consumer internet market against companies like Google and Microsoft.

Comet will allow users to connect with enterprise applications like Slack and ask complex questions via voice and text, according to a brief demo video Perplexity released on Wednesday.

The browser is available to Perplexity Max subscribers, and the company said invite-only access will roll out to a waitlist over the summer. Perplexity Max costs users $200 per month.

“We built Comet to let the internet do what it has been begging to do: to amplify our intelligence,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine that gives users simple answers to questions and links out to the original source material on the web. After the company was accused of plagiarizing content from media outlets, it launched a revenue-sharing model with publishers last year.

In May, Perplexity was in late-stage talks to raise $500 million at a $14 billion valuation, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC. The startup was also approached by Meta earlier this year about a potential acquisition, but the companies did not finalize a deal.

“We will continue to launch new features and functionality for Comet, improve experiences based on your feedback, and focus relentlessly–as we always have–on building accurate and trustworthy AI that fuels human curiosity,” Perplexity said Wednesday.

WATCH: Perplexity CEO on AI race: The market of providing answers to questions will become a commodity

Perplexity CEO on AI race: The market of providing answers to questions will become a commodity

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Retailers log $7.9 billion in online sales in first 24 hours of Prime Day

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Retailers log .9 billion in online sales in first 24 hours of Prime Day

A worker sorts packages on Amazon Prime Day in New York on July 8, 2025.

Klaus Galiano | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. online sales jumped 9.9% year over year to $7.9 billion on Tuesday, the kickoff of Amazon‘s Prime Day megasale, according to Adobe Analytics.

At that level, it marks the “single biggest e-commerce day so far this year,” Adobe said. It also eclipsed total online spending during Thanksgiving last year, when sales on the holiday reached $6.1 billion.

Amazon’s Prime Day bargain blitz began on Tuesday and lasts through Friday. The event, first launched in 2015 as a way to hook new Prime members, has pushed other retailers to launch counterprogramming.

Walmart‘s six-day deals event also started Tuesday, while Target Circle Week kicked off on Sunday and Best Buy launched a Black Friday in July promotion that began Monday.

Home and outdoor goods showed signs of strong demand during the first day of Amazon’s discount event, said Kashif Zafar, CEO of Xnurta, an advertising platform that serves more than 20,000 online businesses.

Read more CNBC Amazon coverage

Other historically well-performing categories such as beauty and household essentials saw softer demand early on, but could see demand pick up as Prime Day continues, he added.

“Early Prime Day numbers might look soft compared to last year’s surge, but it’s too early to call the event a miss,” Zafar said in an email. “With four days instead of two, we’re seeing a different rhythm, consumers are spreading out their purchases.”

Adobe expects online sales to reach $23.8 billion across all retailers during the 96-hour event, a level that’s “equivalent to two Black Fridays.”

U.S. online shoppers spent $14.2 billion during the 48-hour Prime Day event last year, according to Adobe.

This year’s Prime Day is landing at an uncertain time for retailers and consumers as they grapple with the fallout of President Donald Trump‘s unpredictable tariff policies.

U.S. consumer confidence worsened in June after improving in May as Americans remained concerned about the tariffs’ effect on the economy and prices, according to the Conference Board.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last month the company hasn’t seen prices “appreciably go up” on its site as a result of tariffs.

Some third-party sellers previously told CNBC they were considering raising or had already raised the price of some of their products manufactured in China as the cost of tariffs became burdensome.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

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Photos show Altman, Iger and Cook arrive at ‘summer camp for billionaires’ in Sun Valley

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Photos show Altman, Iger and Cook arrive at 'summer camp for billionaires' in Sun Valley

Sun Valley: Tech CEOs convene as leaders discuss the impact of tariffs, future plans

Top executives from tech, media and finance gathered in Sun Valley, Idaho, for Allen & Co.’s annual conference this week, an event that is often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were all pictured entering the lodge.

Wednesday’s agenda includes interviews with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IAC Chairman Barry Diller, sources told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.

When he arrived on Tuesday, Altman said he is not concerned about the artificial intelligence talent war and that he would talk to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week.

Scroll down to see the tech and media moguls arriving at the exclusive event.

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Tim Cook arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David Grogan | CNBC

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Disney CEO Bob Iger

Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, and Bob Iger (R), CEO of Walt Disney Co., attend the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

TV host Gayle King

Gayle King attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

GM CEO Mary Barra

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Spanx founder Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon

Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Entertainment executive Casey Wasserman

Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Media Group, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC owner John Henry

John Henry attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

OpenAI Chair Bret Taylor

Bret Taylor, chairman of the board of directors of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone

Ken Langone attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller

Stanley Druckenmiller attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.

David A. Grogan | CNBC

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