Google, Amazon-Backed OpenAI-Rival Anthropic Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Copyright Infringement

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.

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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.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

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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.