Writers File Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Massive Copyright Infringement
A group of seventeen renowned American writers, including George R.R. Martin, the author of the Game of Thrones series, have filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, for alleged copyright infringement. The lawsuit seeks billions of dollars in damages for what the writers claim is the large-scale systematic theft of their works.
The authors, represented by the law firm Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard, accuse OpenAI of copying their works en masse without permission or consideration. They argue that OpenAI used their copyrighted material to train its language model called ChatGPT, which generates text using deep learning techniques from large data sets.
The lawsuit brings to light a critical admission from ChatGPT itself. When asked about its training process, the chatbot responded that its training data came from various publicly available sources on the internet, and it acknowledged that some copyrighted material might have been used without the knowledge or consent of the owners.
The writers contend that instead of using public domain works, OpenAI likely obtained copies of their books from internet pages and metadata search engines that contain pirated copies of books. They mention websites like Library Genesis (LibGen) and Z-Library as potential sources for these unauthorized copies.
The writers argue that if OpenAI is found responsible for copyright infringement, the company could face billions of dollars in damages, as was the case with LibGen, which was previously convicted of intentional copyright infringement and ordered to pay $150,000 for each of the 100 copyrights infringed.
Furthermore, the writers suggest that the growth and sophistication of ChatGPT indicate a substantial increase in the size of the training data sets, which raises the suspicion that OpenAI must have used powerful and large sources of electronic books, regardless of their legal status. The lawsuit claims that the defendants could have chosen to pay a reasonable license fee to use protected works, but instead, they allegedly evaded the Copyright Act to further their lucrative business.
In addition to the writers’ lawsuit, OpenAI is facing six other lawsuits filed by different companies this year. The outcome of these legal battles could have significant implications for OpenAI’s future as a company.
The lawsuit, brought by these prominent writers, underscores the issue of copyright infringement in the era of AI. As technology continues to advance, it is vital to strike a balance between innovation and respecting the rights of creators. The verdict in this case will not only determine the fate of OpenAI and its language models but also set a precedent for the use and protection of copyrighted material in AI systems.
