Ninth Circuit upholds dismissal of claims that a code assistant strips open-source licences

Developers sued GitHub, Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging Copilot reproduces licensed code without attribution in breach of the DMCA. On 16 September 2026 the Ninth Circuit upheld dismissal of those claims, finding that AI output lacking the authors' names or licence terms does not by itself show licence information was removed.

Technology & Software 2022-2026 Verified in a source

Insurance products that may respond

Tech E&OMedia / IP liability

Why it matters for insurance

Defence win on the DMCA theory; the training-stage theory was not decided because it was not preserved. Relevant to software firms that ship AI-generated code.

Source

Doe v. GitHub, Inc., No. 24-7700 (9th Cir. 16 Sep 2026), Gibson Dunn client alert

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This is an educational research summary built from public information. Allegations in pending cases are unproven, and the insurance notes above are for discussion, not coverage advice. Whether any policy responds depends on its specific wording, exclusions, endorsements, the facts, and applicable law.

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Reviewed by Andrei Craciunescu, CA Licensed Insurance Broker #4467994