OpenAI and Microsoft are currently facing a lawsuit filed by author and Hollywood reporter Julian Sancton, who accuses them of unauthorized use of nonfiction authors' work, including training AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT service. The legal action, initiated on Nov. 21, alleges that OpenAI employed tens of thousands of nonfiction books without proper authorization to train its language models. Sancton is leading a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in a New York federal court.
The lawsuit is part of a broader trend where copyright owners, including notable authors such as John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Jonathan Franzen, have taken legal action against OpenAI and other tech companies, claiming the misuse of their work for training AI systems. Despite the allegations, the companies involved have denied any wrongdoing.
Sancton's legal action specifically highlights Microsoft's role in generating unlicensed copies of authors' works for training data and the development of generative pre-trained transformer-based technology. The complaint also accuses Microsoft of being aware of OpenAI's indiscriminate internet crawling for copyrighted material.
This lawsuit coincides with Microsoft's unexpected move to hire Sam Altman to lead its new AI division, following his removal from OpenAI. On Nov. 22, OpenAI announced Altman's return as CEO in a surprising turnaround. Despite facing multiple copyright infringement suits, Microsoft has largely avoided scrutiny, even as it integrates ChatGPT into various products.
Sancton's legal action stands out as the first instance of an author suing OpenAI while also naming Microsoft as a defendant. Given Microsoft's significant investments in the AI startup and the incorporation of OpenAI's systems into its product offerings, the lawsuit alleges Microsoft's substantial involvement in model development and holds the company accountable for copyright infringement. Sancton seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court order to halt the alleged infringement.
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