Game Of Thrones Creator, 12 Other Authors Sue Microsoft-Backed OpenAI For Copyright Infringement

In a recent development, highly acclaimed authors, including “Game of Thrones” creator George R.R. Martin, have initiated a legal battle against Microsoft Corp.-backed MSFT AI firm OpenAI. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI has been illegally using their copyrighted content.

What Happened: According to court filings, the lawsuit was lodged in the Southern District of New York. The legal action accuses OpenAI of unlawfully utilizing copyrighted works to train its extensive language model, ChatGPT.

A total of 13 authors and the Authors Guild are part of the class action suit, which alleges that ChatGPT was used to generate subpar e-books by mimicking a particular writing style. Among the plaintiffs are renowned authors like George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, Elin Hilderbrand, and Christina Baker Kline.

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The lawsuit points out that ChatGPT was employed to create substandard replicas of Martin’s highly anticipated sequels to his globally famous book series. The legal representatives for the Authors Guild also mentioned an instance where a developer named Liam Swayne used ChatGPT to create AI-crafted endings for Martin's “Song of Ice and Fire” series.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for lost potential licensing opportunities and are also demanding a permanent injunction against OpenAI’s continued use of their content. “This case is just the start of our fight to protect authors from theft by OpenAI and other generative AI,” asserted Authors Guild president Maya Shanbhag Lang.

OpenAI acknowledged that creative professionals use ChatGPT in their work. However, it refrained from confirming whether the works were indeed ingested. The company stated that it respects the rights of writers and authors and believes that they should benefit from the advancements made in AI technology.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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