licensing - Adjacent

Jun 26

Google demands broad content rights from publishers testing AI features

Google is conditioning access to its AI-powered Google News features on publishers surrendering rights to their content for model training. This reverses the traditional negotiating position where publishers once controlled distribution. Instead of paying for content or licensing it, Google extracts value by making algorithmic amplification conditional on content ownership, effectively commodifying editorial work. Smaller publishers lack alternatives to reach audiences at scale, leaving them exposed to unfavorable terms as AI infrastructure becomes a gating mechanism for distribution.

theme-connected hardware IoT licensing

May 21

3D Printer Software Licensing Becomes the Real Battleground

Source: Aftermath

As 3D printing hardware commoditizes, manufacturers like Bambu Lab are shifting control upstream into proprietary software ecosystems—locking users into cloud platforms, cloud-dependent slicing software, and subscription-gated features that override the supposed freedom of owning the physical device. This mirrors the smartphone and gaming console playbook: sell cheap hardware, capture margin and behavioral data through software, and prevent users from easily switching ecosystems or modifying their own tools. Whoever controls 3D printing software controls supply chain resilience, medical device customization, and whether distributed manufacturing remains genuinely distributed or becomes another walled garden.