The Lawsuits: Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden, and Richard Kadrey Sue OpenAI and Meta Over Copyright Infringement
Renowned comedian Sarah Silverman, along with authors Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey, have taken legal action against OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, and Meta, owned by Mark Zuckerberg. The lawsuits accuse both OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Meta’s LLaMA, large language models, of being trained on unlawfully obtained datasets that contain the copyrighted works of the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants acquired the works from various “shadow library” websites such as Bibliotik, Library Genesis, Z-Library, and others. The plaintiffs point out that these books are readily available in bulk through torrent systems, according to The Verge.
According to the lawsuit, when prompted, ChatGPT generates summaries of the plaintiffs’ copyrighted works, indicating that the model must have been trained on them. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the chatbot failed to reproduce any of the copyright management information that the plaintiffs included with their published works.
In a separate lawsuit filed against Meta, the authors claim that their books were accessible within the datasets that Meta used to train its LLaMA models. The lawsuit states, “Many of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted books appear in the dataset that Meta has admitted to using to train LLaMA.”
Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden, and Richard Kadrey own registered copyrights for their respective books, including “The Bedwetter,” “Ararat,” and “Sandman Slim.”
Both lawsuits argue that the authors did not provide consent for their copyrighted books to be used as training material for the defendants’ AI models. The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages, restitution of profits, and more.
The Allegations: Copyright Infringement, Negligence, Unjust Enrichment, and Unfair Competition
Each lawsuit comprises six counts of copyright violations, negligence, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition. The authors accuse OpenAI and Meta of unlawfully using their creative works without permission, resulting in financial harm and unjust gains for the defendants.
Editor Notes: Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in the Age of AI
The lawsuits brought by Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden, and Richard Kadrey against OpenAI and Meta highlight the ongoing struggle to protect intellectual property rights in the digital age. As AI technology continues to advance, it becomes increasingly important to address the ethical and legal implications of using copyrighted material to train language models.
While AI offers incredible opportunities for innovation and creativity, it is vital to ensure that these advancements respect the rights of creators. The current lawsuits shed light on the need for clearer regulations and consent mechanisms when it comes to using copyrighted works in AI training datasets.
Intellectual property rights are the foundation of fostering creativity and encouraging artists, authors, and comedians to share their talents with the world. Protecting these rights ensures fair compensation for creators and maintains a vibrant cultural landscape.
As the legal proceedings unfold, it will be interesting to see how the courts address the complex intersection of AI technology and copyright law. This case has the potential to set important precedents that shape the future of AI development and its relationship with intellectual property rights.
At GPT News Room, we remain committed to providing updates on this case and other significant developments in the AI industry. Be sure to visit GPT News Room for the latest news, insights, and analysis.
