In a recent case, OpenAI, the creator of the popular ChatGPT chatbot, won a lawsuit brought by The Raw Story and AlterNet, who alleged that OpenAI used their copyrighted news articles to train ChatGPT. The judge ruled in favor of OpenAI, stating that the news organizations weren't able to show that OpenAI's use of their content caused them any actual injury. This ruling could potentially strengthen the argument of AI companies that their use of copyrighted songs to train AI constitutes "fair use" under US copyright law. However, the music industry's lawsuits against AI developers differ in several ways, and the "fair use" doctrine has yet to be tested in AI cases.
Key takeaways:
- Several copyright holders, including major music companies, have sued AI developers for allegedly using copyrighted materials without permission to train their AI models.
- OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT chatbot, has been sued by news organizations for allegedly using their copyrighted news articles to train ChatGPT. However, OpenAI won a case brought by The Raw Story and AlterNet, as the judge ruled that the news organizations weren’t able to show that OpenAI’s use of their content caused them any actual injury.
- Some observers suggest that this ruling could strengthen the argument of AI music-making platforms Suno and Udio, who are being sued by record companies, that their use of copyrighted songs to train AI constitutes “fair use” under US copyright law.
- However, the Raw Story vs. OpenAI case is different from the lawsuits the music industry has brought against AI developers, and the key defense of “fair use” has yet to be tested in AI cases.