Brave Software, Inc. v. News Corporation

Brave Software, developer of the privacy-focused Brave browser and Brave Search, brought a declaratory action against News Corp and several affiliates, including Dow Jones & Co. and NYP Holdings. The suit followed a cease-and-desist letter from News Corp alleging that Brave’s search engine unlawfully scraped and republished copyrighted news content, and that Brave was monetising such material through its search index and AI licensing. Brave denied any infringement and sought judicial confirmation that its indexing of publicly available webpages and generation of short text “snippets” constituted fair use. The company contended that News Corp’s threats were an anticompetitive attempt to stifle a rival search provider. Causes of action: Declaratory judgment of no copyright infringement. Declaratory judgment of copyright misuse by News Corp. Declaratory judgment of no breach of contract arising from any website terms of service. On 10 June 2025, the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal under Federal Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), agreeing that all of Brave’s claims be dismissed without prejudice, with each party bearing its own costs and legal fees—indicating a negotiated resolution without judicial determination on the merits.

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