New Vietnamese bank to launch in Houston
USV Bancorp is in the final stages of raising capital to support its acquisition of a rural Texas bank to launch the first-ever Vietnamese-owned bank in Houston and second nationwide.
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Disney, Universal Slam AI Company As 'Bottomless Pit Of Plagiarism' In Scathing Lawsuit
Disney and NBCUniversal joined forces in the first lawsuit of its kind against the artificial intelligence image company Midjourney on Wednesday, accusing it of copyright infringement. 'We are bringing this action today to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us and the significant investment we make in our content,' Kimberly Harris, NBCUniversal's executive vice president, told CNBC. The companies' lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Midjourney sought 'to reap the rewards' of Disney and Universal-copyrighted characters by selling an AI image-generating service 'that functions as a virtual vending machine, generating endless unauthorized copies' of their copyrighted works. 'Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,' the lawsuit reads. 'Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing.' Midjourney did not immediately respond to HuffPost's request for comment. The AI company made $300 million last year from its image service, which allowed subscribers to simply enter a text prompt to request any of the Disney or Universal characters to perform an action, according to the lawsuit. The AI then generates and displays a high-quality image of the character. The lawsuit lists several Disney or Universal-owned characters Midjourney generated, including Shrek, Darth Vader, Thanos from the 'Avengers' series, and the Minions characters from 'Despicable Me.' Horacio Gutierrez, chief legal and compliance officer for The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement to HuffPost that Disney's 'world-class IP is built on decades of financial investment, creativity and innovation—investments only made possible by the incentives embodied in copyright law that give creators the exclusive right to profit from their works.' He added, 'We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity.' The lawsuit contends that 'Midjourney could easily stop its theft and exploitation' of intellectual property since the AI service controls what copyrighted content it selects. However, Midjourney chose not to use copyright protection measures, even when Disney and Universal sent cease-and-desist letters, according to the suit. The lawsuit accuses Midjourney of promoting its AI tools using Disney and Universal characters, and says the AI company has already begun using such characters to train its video service. The companies are now asking for a jury trial to determine damages, which could include some of Midjourney's profits. 'Midjourney's bootlegging business model and defiance of U.S copyright law are not only an attack on Disney, Universal, and the hard-working creative community that brings the magic of movies to life, but are also a broader threat to the American motion picture industry which has created millions of jobs and contributed more than $260 billion to the nation's economy,' the lawsuit reads. College Student Allegedly Created Undressed Images Of Classmates With AI, Then Sold Them Top AI CEO Warns Lawmakers To Prepare For Tech To Gut Entry-Level Office Jobs Chicago Sun-Times Faces Backlash After Promoting Fake Books In AI-Generated Summer Reading List
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UAE oil giant circling BP gas fields
A state-backed oil giant from the United Arab Emirates is positioning itself for a swoop on BP's energy empire. Adnoc, the Abu Dhabi-owned group, has been considering a move for BP's key assets and looking to partner with another bidder to buy some of the FTSE 100 group's divisions, Bloomberg reported. The Middle Eastern company, which is run by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE's energy minister, is said to be most interested in BP's liquefied natural gas (LNG) fields, rather than taking over the entire company. Adnoc recently started an international unit, XRG, which is on the hunt for gas and chemicals deals as it targets a big jump in LNG capacity. It is understood that XRG's discussions about a possible bid are at an early stage with no decisions made. No BP assets have been announced as being for sale. Adnoc has been a longstanding suitor for BP, with The Telegraph last year reporting that Adnoc had explored a full-blown takeover of the UK group, which has long suffered from a depressed stock market valuation. Deliberations did not advance after Adnoc concluded that BP was not the right fit for its strategy. The company was also concerned about the politics of any bid. A takeover of BP would almost certainly draw UK government involvement because of its significance to Britain. Sultan Al Jaber, who has run Anoc since 2016, is also the chairman of UAE media company IMI, which has been involved in funding a bid to buy The Telegraph. Adnoc's possible interest comes as BP battles to turn around its fortunes after a string of missteps in recent years. Murray Auchincloss, the chief executive, is trying to reset that with a return to oil and gas, and a plan to sell assets. Elliott, the US activist investor, also recently took a significant stake in the group and has been pushing for changes to improve performance and shareholder value, including spending cuts and asset sales, BP and Adnoc already have a long history of working together on projects. The London-headquartered company helped discover oil in Abu Dhabi more than half a century ago. Last year BP also took a 10pc stake in an LNG plant under construction in the emirate and the companies also struck a deal to form a joint venture focused on production from two vast Egyptian gas fields. Under the deal, BP transferred interests in three gas fields to the joint venture as well as exploration rights. Adnoc put cash into the joint venture helping BP raise funds to further expand in the Middle East. The move was part of BP's attempts to battle a prolonged underperformance stemming in large part from its previous focus on a net zero strategy. Other oil companies have also been exploring opportunities at BP, whose market value has fallen by a third in just over a year to below £60bn. Adnoc referred questions to XRG, which declined to comment. A BP spokesman said the group refused to comment on 'rumour and speculation'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Coinbase beefs up subscription plan by offering it with American Express credit card
Coinbase on Thursday introduced its first branded credit card in partnership with American Express. The card will be available exclusively to U.S. members of Coinbase One, the cryptocurrency platform's monthly subscription product that offers zero trading fees, increased staking rewards and other perks. Additionally, Coinbase is also creating a lower-cost "Basic" subscription tier. Cardholders will be able to earn between 2% and 4% back in bitcoin, beginning this fall, and take advantage of experiences, protections and other benefits that are offered alongside the American Express network. Coinbase One costs $29.99 a month while a Basic tier with fewer rewards will cost $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. "We see real potential in the combination of Coinbase and crypto with the powerful backing of American Express, and what the card offers is an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now," Will Stredwick of American Express global network services said at the Coinbase State of Crypto Summit in New York City. Coinbase's crypto exchange for retail and institutional investors is its core business, but the company has been building its subscription and services offering, comprised of stablecoins, staking, subscriptions like Coinbase One and custody, which supports the majority of bitcoin and ether ETFs. William Blair analyst Andrew Jeffrey said Wednesday that subscription revenue growth "will be the reason long-term investors own the stock." Trading revenue totaled $1.26 billion in the first quarter, while subscription and services revenue came in at $698.1 million for the quarter. Coinbase One launched in 2023 and has grown to more than one million members since. The company also operates a developer platform called Base and a self-custody wallet. The launch of the Coinbase One card comes as the crypto industry prepares for a boom in product launches and rollouts thanks to the pro-crypto policies of the Trump administration and more clearly defined crypto regulations expected from Congress in coming months. This is the first credit card launch for Coinbase, although it introduced a prepaid debit card in partnership with Visa in 2020. American Express has previously partnered with trading platform Abra on a crypto-back card that was due to hit the market in 2022 but never materialized. Other crypto-back cards have been discontinued or removed crypto as a redemption option. Of the remaining offerings, Gemini, the Winklevoss brothers' 11-year-old crypto trading platform that confidentually filed to go public last week, offers a crypto-back credit card, while PayPal-owned Venmo allows users to "earn" crypto from its credit card through an automated "Cash Back to Crypto" function.
