With Daniel Lippman GETTY IMAGES HIRES NVG: Stock photo and wire service Getty Images is jumping into the policy fight over artificial intelligence and copyright law. Getty retained Josh Hurvitz, a former lobbyist for what was then Warner Media, and former civil rights attorney Erinn Martin of NVG, LLC to work on the issue back in July, according to a newly filed disclosure. — It’s the first time Getty Images has had federal lobbyists on retainer since 2010, disclosures show. The hire comes as Congress — responding to pleas from creatives and the entertainment industry — grapples with how to regulate the way intellectual property and copyrighted works are used to train large language models or reproduced and modified using generative AI. — Last year, Getty filed a federal lawsuit against Stability AI that accused the startup of using Getty’s images to train its AI model without permission. The lawsuit has been cited in a study on the issue opened by the U.S. Copyright Office as well as proposed legislation that would require greater transparency into AI training data. — That’s not to say Getty Images hasn’t embraced generative AI as well. Earlier this year, the company partnered with computing giant Nvidia to launch its own AI image generator that draws from its massive trove of licensed photos. MORE NEW BUSINESS: Hardware manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker has hired Republican fundraiser Jeff Miller to lobby on trade issues amid pledges by former President Donald Trump to double down on tariffs should he win a second term in office. George Caram, who worked for the National Security Council under Trump, will also work on the account, according to a disclosure. — The company was hit hard by the trade penalties levied on steel, aluminum and other goods from China during Trump's first term; on an earnings call in May, CEO Don Allan said those tariffs cost the company $300 million, quipping when asked about the possibility for new tariffs that he had "a little PTSD" from that time but noting that the company had reduced its exposure in the years since, during which the Biden administration has kept many of the tariffs in place. TGIF and welcome to PI. Send lobbying gossip, rumors, tips or complaints: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. FIRST IN PI – CAUGHT IN THE FAST LANE: Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), who is a co-founder of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus, recently was the guest of honor at an event that was partly sponsored by fast fashion titan Shein, Daniel reports. — In May 2023, Kamlager-Dove, along with Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), announced that they had started the caucus with the aim to bring production of textiles back to the U.S., increase the reuse of textiles and raise alarm about the environmental effects of fast fashion. “I’m an LA girl and so I love looking stylish, but mostly when it is sustainable,” she said at the announcement. “In fact, my whole outfit today is sustainable.” — But last week, during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference, she was honored at an event called “The LA Party” at The Line hotel in D.C. that showcased Black artists, designers and models from Los Angeles and was sponsored by Shein, according to posts on LinkedIn from the company and one of its government affairs staffers. “Special recognition went out to Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who represents our Los Angeles Headquarters,” Shein said in a post. A Shein spokesperson declined to comment. — Other sponsors of the party included Amazon, Wells Fargo, Honeywell and The American Institute of Architects, among others, according to pictures of the party obtained by PI. — “The event you reference happened during CBCF ALC week, when many CBC members attend events thrown in their honor,” a Kamlager-Dove spokesperson said in a statement to PI. “The congresswoman attended the LA Party, which was sponsored by several LA-based companies, in recognition of her contributions to the district. The congresswoman is a proud member of the Slow Fashion Caucus and is committed to advancing a fashion industry that is sustainable and ethical.” IF YOU MISSED IT THURSDAY: Our friends over at NatSec Daily report that “internal discontent is brewing at the Atlantic Council over the Washington think tank’s decision to honor Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at an upcoming gala in New York and invite controversial tech mogul Elon Musk to introduce her.” — “The Atlantic Council will give Meloni its Global Citizen Award on Sept. 22 at a gala on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in recognition of ‘her groundbreaking role as Italy’s first female prime minister, her strong support of the European Union and the transatlantic alliance, and her 2024 chairmanship of the Group of Seven.’” — “Meloni’s inclusion was grounds alone for some staffers at the prominent Washington policy shop to grouse, owing to her past coziness with Russia and her political party’s anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. But former and current Atlantic Council staffers, granted anonymity to speak freely, told NatSec Daily that anger reached a boiling point when the think tank announced that at Meloni’s request, she would be introduced by Musk.” WASHINGTON GROUP STAFFS UP: The advisory team for the strategy firm Washington Office added Colleen Laughlin, the former executive director of the Defense Innovation Board; retired Brig. Gen. Al Abramson, the former commander of Picatinny Arsenal and joint program executive officer for Armaments; Mary Monica Palmer, a former DOD policy adviser; Shawn Usman, an astrophysicist and former intelligence official; former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research Ellen McCarthy; TEDx founder Lara Stein and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Lauren Tomlinson. FLYING IN: More than 200 hoteliers will be in town next week for the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s annual fly-in. Participants from 36 states will meet with members and staff from more than 150 House and Senate offices to lobby for industry priorities including the preservation of key tax breaks and visa reforms. — The hoteliers will be facing some counterprogramming, however, from hotel workers with the hospitality union UNITE HERE. The labor fly-in will pick up on the union’s recent campaign against hotel resort fees, which the union alleges function to “boost [hotels’] profits and leave guests with the bill.” During their fly-in, UNITE HERE members will meet with staff for Senate HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about the issue, according to the union. READY TO TURN THE PAGE: The Consumer Bankers Association, whose members include heavy hitters such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Capital One, today debuted a new policy agenda for the next administration in a bid for the industry to appear “at the table, and not on the menu — like we’ve been over the last four years,” CBA chief Lindsey Johnson told our Sam Sutton. — The group’s framework “is in keeping with broader industry efforts to influence Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they speedrun through a presidential campaign that’s been heavy on vibes and light on policy specifics,” and while the broad strokes of their plans aren’t controversial, “the accompanying positions take direct aim at key components of the White House’s financial services agenda, including policies that Harris has endorsed as part of her own campaign.” RETURN OF THE MOOCH: Trump communications director-turned-detractor Anthony Scaramucci “said he and a group of crypto advocates are working with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to develop her campaign’s policies on digital assets ahead of the elections in November,” CNBC’s Dylan Butts reports. Scaramucci is now the founder and managing partner of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital and an advocate for crypto issues. — “‘There’s a group of cryptocurrency advocates, bitcoin advocates etc. that are working alongside her to distance the Democratic Party away from Elizabeth Warren and [Gary Gensler],’ he told a panel on Thursday at the annual TOKEN2049 event,” referring to the crypto-skeptical Democratic senator and SEC chair. — “Harris has been hearing out crypto proponents and we are pushing her to back industry-friendly policies, he said, adding that the vice president even has some of these talks lined up for this week.” DEPT. OF ODD BEDFELLOWS: “Not so long ago, a meeting between Saudi Arabia and a top American sports organization — on the eve of September 11! In New York! — would have drawn outrage: A news cycle full of quotes from bereaved 9/11 families, crestfallen admirers of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi or human rights activists shaking their heads at the way Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s sportswashing campaign was co-opting another American institution,” our Michael Schaffer writes. “This year, it was mostly crickets, something that leaves the leader of a prominent victims’ organization feeling betrayed.” SPOTTED last night at a 2024 Food From the Bar closing reception hosted by K&L Gates, per a tipster: Megan Curran of the Capital Area Food Bank, Andy Cook and Scott Aliferis of K&L Gates, Kelly Fisher of D.C. Water, John McCarthy of Crowell & Moring, Tracey Jackson of the National Bar Association and Jeff Newman of Thompson Coburn LLP. — And at a reception in honor of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week hosted by the American Trucking Associations at their office on Capitol Hill, per a tipster: Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.). — And at the British Embassy for an American vs. British beef cookoff hosted with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, per a tipster: Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Doug McKalip of USTR, Daniel Whitley of the USDA, James Roscoe of the British Embassy, Colin Gray of the Scottish government’s U.S. office, Gene Copenhaver of NCBA and Tom Bradshaw of the National Farmers’ Union (Great Britain).
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