By Kluwer Copyright Blog
Publication Date: 2026-02-03 12:00:00
On December 3rd, 2025, RTI SpA and Medusa Film SpA (the broadcaster and the movie production company of Mediaset Group) filed a civil lawsuit before the Court of Rome against Perplexity AI Inc. for unlawful use of copyrighted content in the context of the AI training of Perplexity’s large language model (LLM), Sonar.
The case between RTI/Medusa and Perplexity is based on the plaintiffs’ allegation of a framework of multiple, systematic, and serious infringements of intellectual property rights, in violation of the core principles of European and national copyright laws that are applicable also in the generative AI ecosystem. The plaintiffs hold primary copyrights and related rights under Italian copyright law, as well as the trademarks that distinguish RTI’s programs and Medusa’s audiovisual works; such rights relate not only to content protected in its entirety but also parts, characteristic elements, frames, formats, and distinctive signs, all covered by exclusive protection.
RTI and Medusa highlight that they have full ownership of the exploited audiovisual content: works of authorship protected under Articles 1 and 2 of the Italian Copyright Law, as well as related rights of the producer and broadcaster under Articles 45, 78-ter, and 79 of the Italian Copyright Law (LDA). These rights expressly include the exclusive rights of reproduction, storage, communication to the public, and making available of the works, even in partial or fragmented form. In the…
