OpenAI, Microsoft hit with new author copyright lawsuit over AI training

A lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court accusing OpenAI and Microsoft on Tuesday of misusing nonfiction authors' work to train AI models that power services such as OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. Julian Sancton, an author and editor at the Hollywood Reporter, spearheads the proposed class action, alleging that OpenAI used tens of thousands of nonfiction books without permission to instruct its expansive language models in responding to human text prompts.

This legal action is among several brought by copyright holders, including authors John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Jonathan Franzen, against tech firms like OpenAI for purportedly misusing their work in AI training. The companies have refuted these claims.

Sancton's complaint is the first to name Microsoft alongside OpenAI as a defendant. Microsoft, having heavily invested in the AI startup and incorporated its systems into its products, is implicated in the lawsuit.

Justin Nelson, Sancton's attorney, condemned the refusal of payment to nonfiction authors despite the substantial value of the AI platform, alleging that OpenAI's foundation is built on the widespread appropriation of copyrighted material. "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," Sancton's attorney Justin Nelson said in a statement to Reuters.

Sancton's lawsuit specified instances where OpenAI allegedly used nonfiction books, including his own "Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night," to train their GPT language models.

What’s a class action?

A class action is a type of lawsuit where a group of people with similar legal claims collectively bring their case against a defendant or defendants. This group, known as the class, typically shares a common complaint or harm caused by the actions of the defendant. Instead of each person filing an individual lawsuit, one or more individuals represent the entire class.

Class actions are often used when a large number of people have suffered a similar injury or when addressing a widespread issue that affects numerous individuals. They can involve various matters, such as consumer protection, product liability, environmental damage, employment disputes, or securities fraud.

When a court certifies a case as a class action, it means that the lawsuit can proceed on behalf of the entire group, and any judgment or settlement reached will apply to all members of the class, unless they opt-out. This mechanism allows for more efficient resolution of legal disputes involving numerous parties with similar grievances.

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