Sarah Silverman v. OpenAI (copyright lawsuit)

Authors accuse OpenAI of training ChatGPT on their copyrighted works without consent—raising major concerns about AI and copyright law.

Short DescriptionIn July 2023, comedian Sarah Silverman and authors Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey filed a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI (and similarly, Meta), alleging their books—including The Bedwetter—were used for training large language models without permission. Their work was allegedly sourced from “shadow libraries” and led to ChatGPT generating summaries without proper authorization.

Facts

• Plaintiffs: Sarah Silverman; Christopher Golden; Richard Kadrey.

• Defendant: OpenAI.

• Allegations: Books were ingested via shadow library sites and used to train AI. ChatGPT generated summaries, indicating direct use.

Legal FindingsThe court partially dismissed several claims (e.g., vicarious infringement, DMCA violations, negligence, unjust enrichment), but upheld the direct copyright infringement claim and an unfair competition claim. Plaintiffs are permitted to amend their complaint.

Implications

• Raises important questions about fair use in AI training.

• Highlights the need for proper dataset sourcing and licensing.

• May shape future AI content regulations and licensing norms.

Current Status

• Filed in July 2023.

• Partial dismissal issued.

• Copyright and unfair competition claims still active.