A coalition of nonfiction authors, spearheaded by Julian Sancton, has taken legal action against Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing the tech giants of utilizing their artificial intelligence Chatbot GPT tool to replicate tens of thousands of works without obtaining proper authorization, The Hill reported Wednesday.
The complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. district court in Manhattan, alleges OpenAI, in collaboration with Microsoft, engaged in the unauthorized copying of tens of thousands of nonfiction books to train its expansive language models for human text prompts, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Sancton, an author and editor for The Hollywood Reporter, said no compensation has come from OpenAI's actions as the tech conglomerates have amassed considerable financial gains from commercializing their AI products.
The lawsuit contends: "Nonfiction authors often spend years conceiving, researching, and writing their creations. While OpenAI and Microsoft refuse to pay nonfiction authors, their AI platform is worth a fortune. The basis of the OpenAI platform is nothing less than the rampant theft of copyrighted works."
The legal filing asserts that Microsoft and OpenAI, jointly responsible for the popular ChatGPT program, collaborated closely in developing and applying their AI-powered products.
OpenAI is expected to take a similar position it took in a motion to dismiss in a lawsuit earlier this year filed in California by author Paul Tremblay and Mona Awad.
That motion stated the authors "misconceive the scope of copyright, failing to take into account the limitations and exceptions [including fair use] that properly leave room for innovations like the large language models now at the forefront of artificial intelligence."
According to OpenAI in that lawsuit, even if the authors' books were a "tiny part" of ChatGPT's massive data set, "the use of copyrighted materials by innovators in transformative ways does not violate copyright."
Sancton, representing the consortium of nonfiction authors, seeks damages from Microsoft and OpenAI for the alleged widespread "infringement of copyrighted works." The lawsuit also demands "injunctive relief" to address the ongoing concerns of unauthorized replication of nonfiction material by AI models.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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