A group of 17 prominent authors, including renowned writer George R.R. Martin, has initiated a proposed class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement by the AI model ChatGPT. The lawsuit, filed by the Authors Guild based in New York, accuses ChatGPT of engaging in “flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs’ registered copyrights.”
The complaint suggests that ChatGPT’s development involved the use of text from books obtained through pirate e-book repositories without proper authorization. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that OpenAI had alternative options, such as training its language models on public domain texts or obtaining licenses for copyrighted works, instead of resorting to “systematic theft on a mass scale.”
Authors Guild president Maya Shanbhag Lang, who is among the plaintiffs, emphasized the significance of this legal action. She stated, “This case is merely the beginning of our battle to defend authors from theft by OpenAI and other generative AI. Our staff, which includes a formidable legal team, has expertise in copyright law. This is all to say: We do not bring this suit lightly. We are here to fight.”
OpenAI, in response to the lawsuit, has expressed a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue. A spokesperson for the company noted, “We are having productive conversations with creators, including the Authors Guild, and have been working cooperatively to understand and discuss their concerns about AI. We’re optimistic we will continue to find mutually beneficial ways to work together.”
This legal action comes on the heels of two similar complaints filed against OpenAI by comedian Sarah Silverman and author Paul Tremblay. As the lawsuits unfold, it remains to be seen how this legal battle will impact the use of AI language models in the creative industry.