The ROSS AI copyright ruling and the work behind our tools

Verified court opinion · September 2026

What the court decided

In an opinion dated September 29, the U.S. Third Circuit upheld a lower-court decision on key copyright issues in Thomson Reuters’s case against ROSS Intelligence. The dispute concerned editorial headnotes: short summaries of legal points written by editors. The court held that the headnotes at issue qualified for copyright protection and that ROSS’s use was not fair use.

The opinion distinguishes those headnotes from the underlying judicial opinions. It also describes ROSS’s system as non-generative: it returned existing legal passages rather than creating new expression. This decision addresses the particular use before the court; it is not a finding that every kind of AI training is unlawful.

Sources: Thomson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence, No. 25-2153: opinion of the court

Scripture in context · Ephesians 4:17–32

Ephesians gives work a purpose beyond getting ahead

Ephesians 4 describes a change in how the letter’s readers are to live. The instructions are concrete: abandon falsehood, speak truthfully, handle anger without wrongdoing, work honestly and use words that help others. They belong together, rather than forming a collection of unrelated slogans.

In verse 28, the person who has been stealing is directed toward useful work so that there is something to share with someone in need. The sentence moves from taking, to working, to giving. Earning a living is connected with what one can contribute.

For this reflection, the important connection is between the way something is obtained and the good we hope to do with it. A worthwhile result does not spare us from asking about the means. That is an editorial application of the passage, not a biblical ruling on a company or technology.

Sources: Ephesians 4 · Berean Standard Bible

Scripture in context · Deuteronomy 24:14–15

The person behind the work still matters

Deuteronomy 24:14–15 addresses hired workers who are poor and depend on their wages. The instruction includes workers from the community and foreigners living among them. Payment is not treated as a favor that can be delayed until it is convenient.

This is an ancient Israelite law about labor and wages. It does not describe copyright, software licensing or model training. We should preserve that difference. The connection we draw is a question about attention: are the people whose effort benefits us visible when decisions about payment are made?

We do not need to pretend that a writer, a software developer and an ancient hired worker occupy identical situations to take that question seriously.

Sources: Deuteronomy 24 · Berean Standard Bible

Editorial reflection

Being grateful is a beginning

Think of a report that depends on someone’s research, a presentation built around an illustrator’s image, or a lesson shaped by a teacher’s careful explanation. The finished product may take seconds to share. The work that made it useful can disappear from view.

Gratitude helps us notice it. Follow-through asks more: have we represented our contribution honestly? Have we checked the terms on which material can be used? If a fee was agreed, have we paid it? These questions apply to ordinary work as well as tools we call innovative.

We should ask them without turning every disagreement into a charge of theft. Legal permissions and exceptions depend on the situation. Scripture can challenge careless habits while the specific legal question receives the careful assessment it needs.

Sources: Ephesians 4 · Berean Standard Bible · Deuteronomy 24 · Berean Standard Bible · Can I Use Someone Else’s Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine?

Optional practice

Try a small source check

Choose one item you are preparing to publish: a slide, image, paragraph or piece of code. Write down where it came from, what you changed, and the terms you are relying on to use it. If you cannot answer, pause that item while you check.

Naming a creator tells readers whose work they are seeing; a credit line by itself does not establish a right to reuse it. The U.S. Copyright Office explains that fair use depends on the circumstances. Check the actual license or permission, and seek qualified advice for a disputed use.

Then look at your own description of the work. A hypothetical team note could say, “I wrote the introduction and used this licensed illustration.” That gives colleagues a clearer account than claiming to have made everything yourself. A small correction now can keep an inaccurate impression from spreading.

Sources: Ephesians 4 · Berean Standard Bible · Can I Use Someone Else’s Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine?

Private reflection

What would fair dealing look like here?

Who made my work easier this week? Think of one person whose contribution was easy to miss. Perhaps the next step is credit, an agreed payment, a corrected description, or a conversation about terms. Choose the response that fits the actual situation.

Generosity also includes how we offer our own work. We can make permissions clear, explain what is available freely and state what requires agreement. Clarity gives other people a fair chance to respect the boundaries we ask them to observe.

Sources: Ephesians 4 · Berean Standard Bible · Deuteronomy 24 · Berean Standard Bible

Optional prayer

A prayer for honest work

God, help us notice the effort behind what we use. Make us truthful about our own contribution and willing to correct a careless claim. Give us wisdom to handle disagreement fairly, and help the work of our hands become something we can share for another person’s good. Amen.

Sources: Ephesians 4 · Berean Standard Bible