OpenAI and Microsoft are currently facing a legal challenge as they are accused of misusing nonfiction authors’ works to train artificial intelligence models, including OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT chatbot.
Julian Sancton, an editor at Hollywood Reporter, is leading the proposed class action, filed in a Manhattan federal court. Sancton alleges that OpenAI used tens of thousands of nonfiction books without permission to train its large language models for responding to human text prompts.
This lawsuit is part of a series of legal actions initiated by copyright owners, including well-known authors like John Grisham and George R.R. Martin, against various tech companies. OpenAI and others have contested these allegations.
What makes Sancton’s complaint unique is that it’s the first author lawsuit against OpenAI that also names Microsoft as a defendant. Microsoft, being a significant investor in OpenAI, has integrated the startup’s AI systems into its products.
The legal action underscores the tension between the value of OpenAI’s AI platform and the alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted works. Justin Nelson, Sancton’s attorney, emphasized this by stating, “While OpenAI and Microsoft refuse to pay nonfiction authors, their AI platform is worth a fortune. The basis of OpenAI is nothing less than the rampant theft of copyrighted works.”
The lawsuit outlines that OpenAI utilized nonfiction books, including Sancton’s own work “Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night,” for training its GPT large language models. It further alleges that Microsoft played a significant role in the training and development of these models, making the company accountable for copyright infringement.
In the midst of this legal battle, Sancton is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order to prevent any further alleged infringement.
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