Editor’s Note: The story was updated to include a comment from an Anthropic spokesperson.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and the Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic, a rival to ChatGPT’s parent company OpenAI, is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by three authors, alleging copyright infringement in the training of its AI chatbot.
What Happened: In a complaint filed on Monday, authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson have accused Anthropic of using pirated versions of their books, reported Reuters.
The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, alleges that Anthropic has built a multibillion-dollar business by misusing copyrighted books.
The authors’ works were reportedly included in a dataset of pirated books used to train its AI-powered chatbot, Claude.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages and a permanent injunction against Anthropic’s alleged misuse of the authors’ work.
An Anthropic spokesperson told Benzinga that the company was "ware of the suit and was assessing the complaint." The spokesperson declined to comment further on the pending litigation.
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Why It Matters: This is not the first time an AI company has been sued for copyright infringement. Last year in October, Universal Music Group filed a lawsuit against Anthropic for allegedly using their songs without permission to train Claude.
Moreover, other AI companies have faced similar lawsuits including OpenAI, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft.
In February 2024, a federal judge dismissed most of the claims made by authors against OpenAI for using copyrighted books to train its AI chatbot. However, the judge allowed a claim for violating California's unfair competition law to proceed.
In May 2024, eight U.S. newspaper publishers filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI for allegedly using their articles without permission in AI products.
Image Credits – Shutterstock
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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