California-based artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is being sued for using copyrighted works without permission to train its AI chatbot, Claude. Three authors, Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson, initiated the class-action lawsuit on Monday in a federal court in California. They claim that Anthropic used pirated versions of their books and many others to develop the chatbot.
The allegation by the authors is that Anthropic has transformed these works into an integral part of its business as it developed Claude. It therefore claims that there was no proper license when the materials were used by Anthropic, making it an infringement on the author’s intellectual property rights.
Authors and creators take legal action against AI companies
The lawsuit makes another addition to the series of court cases that AI firms are facing regarding deploying copyrighted works in training large language models. The claims of authors against Anthropic are part of a wider pattern where copyright owners from photography, journalism and music have sought legal redress against technology companies. These cases revolve around the supposed unconsented use of their materials in the process of training generative artificial intelligence algorithms.
In an unrelated case, other authors as separate groups have sued OpenAI and Meta Platforms for allegedly misusing copyrighted works when building their own AI chatbots. Such cases show how much closer attention is being paid to AI firms’ activities and data usage practices now that more creators and owners want to keep their IP rights safe in the digital era.
Anthropic, which enjoys support from major financial backers such as Amazon, Google, and former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, will now have to grapple with its second significant lawsuit. This is after last year’s filing by music publishers who accused them of employing copyrighted song lyrics in training the same AI system, Claude.
Authors push for legal accountability from AI companies
The authors of the latest lawsuit claim that in addition to violating their rights, Anthropic has made huge profits by using their works. They have said that Claude has been built into a multi-billion-dollar business at the expense of creators through pirated books used as training data. The lawsuit demands unspecified monetary damages and seeks an injunction against Anthropic, permanently enjoining it from continuing to use authors’ work without proper consent.
By Tuesday, Anthropic had not yet responded publicly to this litigation. Moreover, there were no additional remarks from the lawyer who represented the writers concerning this case. Indeed how AI firms approach copyrighted works for training purposes could be determined by this lawsuit result, which would shape AI development and IP landscape going forward.
