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A federal judge in California has ruled against authors suing OpenAI for copyright infringement, denying their request to prevent the company from defending itself in related cases filed in Manhattan by prominent figures including the New York Times, John Grisham, and George R.R. Martin.
Judge’s Decision
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin stated on Friday that the authors in the California case, which includes Michael Chabon, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and comedian Sarah Silverman, had failed to provide sufficient grounds to halt OpenAI’s defense in separate court proceedings. Martinez-Olguin emphasized that the plaintiffs had not presented any legal precedent supporting their request.
Lack of Response
Representatives for the authors and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Similarly, a spokesperson for the New York Times declined to provide a comment.
Background of the Lawsuits
Numerous copyright owners, including writers, visual artists, and music publishers, have initiated legal action against major tech companies like OpenAI, alleging the unauthorized use of their work to train generative artificial intelligence systems.
The authors in the California case filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last summer, alleging that the company had utilized their books without permission or compensation to train the AI model powering its popular chatbot, ChatGPT.
The Authors Guild followed suit with a similar lawsuit against OpenAI in New York in September. Subsequently, additional complaints were filed in New York by nonfiction authors and the New York Times.
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Argument Against Continuation
The authors in the California case argued last month that permitting the “copycat” cases to proceed would lead to inconsistent rulings and waste judicial resources. They also accused OpenAI of engaging in “procedural gamesmanship” and suggested that the company sought a more favorable outcome in New York after facing setbacks in California.
Court’s Ruling
However, Martinez-Olguin dismissed the authors’ request in a three-page order, stating that only in exceptional circumstances should the court grant an injunction that interferes with another federal proceeding. The judge asserted that the authors had not demonstrated such exceptional circumstances and criticized their failure to explain the practical implications of the requested injunction.
Case Details
The case is titled “OpenAI ChatGPT Litigation” and is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with case number 3:23-cv-03223.
Legal Representation
For the authors, legal representation includes Joseph Saveri of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, Bryan Clobes of Cafferty Clobes Meriweather & Sprengel, and Matthew Butterick.
On the other hand, OpenAI is represented by Joe Gratz of Morrison & Foerster and Andy Gass of Latham & Watkins.
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