OpenAI and Microsoft are facing a new copyright lawsuit filed by author Julian Sancton in a New York federal court. The lawsuit alleges unauthorized use of copyrighted works in training AI models, specifically targeting both companies for different roles in the process.

Key allegations in the lawsuit:

• OpenAI and Microsoft built their business by using copyrighted works without permission
• Microsoft provided the computing infrastructure for the unauthorized copying
• OpenAI handled the model calibration and fine-tuning
• The companies allegedly used protected content, including Sancton's book "Madhouse at the End of the Earth"

The lawsuit differs from previous cases (like those filed by Sarah Silverman and the Authors Guild) by including Microsoft as a defendant, citing their substantial investment in OpenAI and their role in providing the technical infrastructure.

According to the complaint, ChatGPT previously confirmed using Sancton's book in its training data before being updated to avoid such admissions. The lawsuit emphasizes that while human readers purchase or borrow books, providing compensation to authors, OpenAI's use of these works offers no such compensation.

The plaintiff seeks:

• Statutory and compensatory damages
• Disgorgement of profits
• Permanent injunction against alleged infringement

This case (1:23-cv-10211) adds to the growing number of legal challenges facing AI companies over copyright issues and their use of protected content for AI training.

Related Articles

Previous Articles