Ninth Circuit rules AI assistant is a tool, not a legal person, in Amazon case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that an AI-driven browsing assistant is a tool for statutory purposes in Amazon’s suit against Perplexity AI, and also ruled that a Jack Daniel’s-themed dog toy does not tarnish the whiskey’s trademark.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals examined Amazon’s lawsuit against Perplexity AI, Inc., which offers the Comet browser featuring an optional AI "Assistant" capable of browsing websites to locate items for shoppers. Amazon alleged the AI violated federal law by accessing its servers, but the judges dismissed that argument, stating that regardless of its sophistication, the Assistant is legally a tool, not a person. This clarification leaves open how future AI agents might be treated as the technology evolves.

In a separate matter, the same court resolved a trademark dispute involving a dog toy that parodies Jack Daniel’s whiskey, finding no evidence that the toy’s scatological references would generate the same level of disgust as they would on a human-consumable product. The rulings underscore the judiciary’s ongoing effort to apply existing legal frameworks to novel digital and branding challenges.