Sarah Silverman Files Lawsuits Against OpenAI and Meta for Copyright Infringement

Comedian and author Sarah Silverman, along with authors Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey, has recently filed copyright infringement lawsuits against OpenAI and Meta. The lawsuits claim that these companies trained their artificial intelligence (AI) models, including ChatGPT and LLaMA, using copyrighted material without obtaining permission from the authors. This article delves into the details of the lawsuits and the allegations made by the authors.

Summary of the Lawsuits:
Silverman, Golden, and Kadrey assert that their works were used without consent to train the AI models developed by OpenAI and Meta. The lawsuits highlight the use of datasets obtained from "shadow library" websites such as Bibliotik, Library Genesis, and Z-Library, which distribute copyrighted content without authorization. The authors argue that their books were summarized by ChatGPT and LLaMA, infringing on their copyrights. The lawsuits also claim that the AI models failed to reproduce the authors' copyright management information.

Allegations Against OpenAI and Meta:
The OpenAI lawsuit presents arguments that ChatGPT summarized Silverman's book, Bedwetter, along with Golden's Ararat and Kadrey's Sandman Slim. The authors contend that ChatGPT utilized their copyrighted material for training purposes without obtaining proper authorization. In the Meta lawsuit, the authors assert that LLaMA, an AI model owned by Meta, was trained on datasets that included their copyrighted works. The datasets were sourced from "shadow libraries" like Bibliotik, which are considered illegal.

Implications and Legal Claims:
The authors' lawsuits consist of several counts of copyright violations, negligence, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition. They seek statutory damages, restitution of profits, and other remedies. Joseph Saveri and Matthew Butterick, lawyers representing the authors, have highlighted concerns from other writers and publishers regarding the AI models' ability to generate text similar to copyrighted materials. These lawsuits challenge the boundaries of copyright law and have significant implications for AI companies.
 

The lawsuits filed by Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden, and Richard Kadrey against OpenAI and Meta raise important questions about the use of copyrighted material in training AI models. The authors argue that their works were utilized without consent, resulting in copyright infringement. As the legal proceedings unfold, the outcomes of these lawsuits will have implications for the AI industry and the boundaries of copyright law in relation to AI-generated content.