John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, And Other Authors Sue OpenAI For Copyright Infringement

OpenAI says they respect “the rights of writers and authors, and believe they should benefit from AI technology.”

Papers were filed earlier this week in New York, where the group of authors alleged “flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs’ registered copyrights,” noting that ChatGPT is a “massive commercial enterprise” which is responsible for “systematic theft on a mass scale.”

“It is imperative that we stop this theft in its tracks or we will destroy our incredible literary culture, which feeds many other creative industries in the U.S.,” said Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger in a statement, per AP. The Authors Guild is the group responsible for organizing the lawsuit.

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“Great books are generally written by those who spend their careers and, indeed, their lives, learning and perfecting their crafts. To preserve our literature, authors must have the ability to control if and how their works are used by generative AI,” she continued.

The lawsuit shows searches that involve each author, showing how their work has been appropriated by the AI platform.

AP cites that one for Martin created “an infringing, unauthorized, and detailed outline for a prequel” to his hit book series Game of Thrones. The outline also uses “the same characters from Martin’s existing books in the series A Song of Ice and Fire.

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The company responded to the lawsuit through a spokesperson, who says that OpenAI respects “the rights of writers and authors, and believe they should benefit from AI technology.”

“We’re having productive conversations with many creators around the world, including the Authors Guild, and have been working cooperatively to understand and discuss their concerns about AI. We’re optimistic we will continue to find mutually beneficial ways to work together to help people utilize new technology in a rich content ecosystem,” says the statement.