OpenAI Scores Major Victory Over Copyright Infringement Claims

Generative AI has produced several problems for courts all across the country. As it stands, however, plaintiffs are having a difficult time filing copyright claims against major chatbots such as ChatGPT and the company that created it, OpenAI. A recent court decision indicates that trend will continue after a district court judge dismissed several claims from writers like Sarah Silverman who allege that ChatGPT is pirating their work to train their AI models. However, the question of whether or not ChatGPT directly infringed on their copyright remains open.

The plaintiffs 

Recently, notable authors such as John Grisham and George R.R. Martin have filed lawsuits against OpenAI alleging that the chatbot has used copyrighted materials to train its models without permission. They have accused the company of “systematic theft on a mass scale” and argued that authors should be compensated for the use of their copyrighted material. These lawsuits are still being heard.

Additionally, the New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft after AI models were allegedly trained on thousands of its news articles. The New York Times alleged that this caused billions of dollars in damages. Among the cited arguments, they said that AI products damage the newspaper’s relationship with its readers and deprive it of subscription, licensing, advertising, and affiliate revenue.

OpenAI’s defense 

OpenAI contends that the works are not sufficiently similar to the original texts to merit a copyright violation. OpenAI contends that the lawsuits “misconceive the scope of copyright” and fail to take into account limitations and exceptions “that properly leave room for innovations like large language models.”

A judge recently struck down five claims that OpenAI committed copyright violations. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish that OpenAI caused them economic injury or even produced output that was vaguely similar to what they had originally written. This means that in order to pursue a copyright infringement claim, the plaintiffs must do more than merely establish that the AI was trained on copyrighted materials, they must also prove that the AI is generating content that is “substantially similar” to its copyrighted materials. The authors have long contended that they don’t need to prove “substantial similarity” because they have direct evidence of their copyrighted materials being used to train large language models like ChatGPT. This decision is a huge win for the defendants and the future of AI.

However, the judge stopped short of dismissing all the claims made in the lawsuit. She upheld the unfair competition claim made by the authors. The authors allege that OpenAI did not request their permission before using copyrighted materials to train its models. OpenAI did not move to dismiss this claim. It remains unclear whether or not OpenAI requires the permission of copyright holders when training its models.

Talk to a Columbus, OH Copyright Infringement Attorney Today 

Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of copyright holders in copyright infringement cases. If your business has had its copyrighted materials illegally infringed upon, we can help you file a lawsuit against the infringing party. Call our Columbus consumer lawyers today to schedule an appointment and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/02/13/openai-scores-court-victory-after-copyright-lawsuit-from-sarah-silverman-is-partially-dismissed/?sh=7ad26f2a5e65