Nonfiction Writers Sue OpenAI, Microsoft for Allegedly Using Their Books to Train ChatGPT

The authors claim their books were used without permission or compensation.

The Microsoft Corp. logo outside the Microsoft Visitor Center in Redmond, Wash., on July 3, 2014. Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

Microsoft and artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI are being sued by nonfiction authors who allege the tech companies trained the ChatGPT tool to copy their work without consent.

Microsoft and OpenAI announced a partnership earlier this year, following several years of investment in the AI company by Microsoft.

In the Nov. 21 documents filed in a Manhattan federal court, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, author Julian Sancton, alleges he and thousands of other nonfiction authors did not receive any compensation for their works being copied by the AI tool.

The lawsuit alleges both Microsoft and OpenAI collaborated closely on creating and using their AI-powered products, such as ChatGPT, to recognize and process user text inputs and “generate text that has been calibrated to mimic a human written response.”

“In doing so, they have infringed on the exclusive rights of Plaintiff Sancton and other writers and rightsholders whose work has been copied and appropriated to train their artificial intelligence models,” the lawsuit states.

ChatGPT was launched by OpenAI last November. Unlike previous tech in the space, the AI chatbot created humanlike responses to users’ queries. It quickly made waves in the tech world and prompted other major companies, including Microsoft, to announce or introduce AI-implemented services as well.

Mr. Sancton’s lawsuit also alleges OpenAI and Microsoft “built a business valued into the tens of billions of dollars by taking the combined works of humanity without permission.”

“Nonfiction authors often spend years conceiving, researching, and writing their creations. While OpenAI and Microsoft refuse to pay nonfiction authors, their AI platform is worth a fortune,” the lawsuit claims.

Authors Claim Tech Giants Infringed on Rights

Mr. Sancton is the author of the New York Times best-seller “Madhouse at the End of the Earth: the Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night,” a book documenting the true story of an Antarctic polar expedition near the end of the 19th century.

He claims to have “dedicated five years of his life and tens of thousands of dollars to completing the book,” traveling around the world to complete the necessary research. The court documents say the investment of time and money was feasible because, “in exchange for their creative efforts, the Copyright Act grants” authors exclusive rights in their works.

“This case is about Defendants OpenAI and Microsoft’s complete disregard for those exclusive rights,” the lawsuit reads.

“Defendants have made commercial reproductions of millions, maybe billions, of copyrighted works without any compensation to authors, without a license, and without permission.”

The court documents also call the basis of the OpenAI platform “nothing less than the rampant theft of copyrighted works.” It’s being alleged in the lawsuit that both Microsoft and OpenAI have achieved significant financial success commercializing the author’s work, making billions of dollars through revenue on AI products.

OpenAI has reportedly made over a billion dollars in revenue during 2023. It has also raised $14 billion across nine funding rounds. However, the company’s total value has been estimated to be upwards of at least $80 billion.

It’s unclear how much revenue the authors think came from the alleged infringement of their works. A jury trial is being requested, along with compensation for damages, expenses, and attorneys’ fees.

Microsoft and OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.