In a significant development, nonfiction author Julian Sancton has expanded the lawsuit filed against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement and unauthorised use of books to train generative AI models. The amended complaint, filed on December 19, 2023, adds twelve new co-plaintiffs to the ongoing legal battle that originally began on November 21, 2023, in the Southern District of New York.

Notable nonfiction authors join lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft

The newly added plaintiffs comprise prominent literary figures, including Authors Guild council members Jia Tolentino and James Shapiro, advisory council members Daniel Okrent and Wade Hampton Sides, as well as Guild members Jonathan Alter, Taylor Branch, Eugene Linden, Stacy Schiff, and Simon Winchester. Additionally, the suit features Kai Bird and Rich Cohen as named plaintiffs.

Pulitzer Prize winners Branch, Schiff and Bird also happen to have co-written the J. Robert Oppenheimer biography “American Prometheus” that was adapted into the hit film “Oppenheimer” this year.

This latest development in the case has now linked it to a related lawsuit filed in September 2023, where the Authors Guild and several fiction writers represented a proposed class of fiction authors against OpenAI and Microsoft.

Allegations of copyright infringement

The collective plaintiffs in the nonfiction case are advocating for a class of “at least tens of thousands of authors” whose works were allegedly exploited without authorisation in the development of ChatGPT, owned by OpenAI. The complaint, mirroring the allegations in the fiction writer case, contends that OpenAI and Microsoft knowingly engaged in “profiting from mass copyright infringement.” The lawsuit argues that the defendants intentionally “reproduced all or nearly all commercially successful nonfiction books,” ultimately harming the market for these copyrighted works by depriving authors of book sales and licensing revenue.

Read: OpenAI and Microsoft in new AI lawsuit over training data

The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction against the companies to cease the unauthorised use of authors’ works. They are also pursuing statutory and other monetary damages on behalf of the entire class of affected nonfiction authors.

Authors’ fight for consent and compensation

Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, emphasised the significance of these lawsuits, saying, “These lawsuits send a clear message to AI companies that authors are taking a strong stand against uses of their works without consent or compensation.” She added, “The enormous value of AI technologies like GPT comes in part from the high-quality books they’re ‘trained’ on, which are a part of the fabric of these models. It is grossly unfair that while AI companies are reaping billions in revenue and investments, the authors whose books were used without permission have not seen a dime. This is a fight for not only the survival of the writing profession but culture as a whole.”

The Authors Guild has expressed its commitment to supporting authors in their pursuit of accountability and compensation from AI companies for the unauthorised use of their literary works. The ongoing legal battle underscores the importance of ensuring that authors’ consent is obtained and that they are fairly compensated for their contributions to the development of AI technology.