AI company Anthropic resolves copyright dispute with authors in precedent-setting AI copyright infringement lawsuit
Warner Bros. Discovery has filed a lawsuit against AI image generator Midjourney for copyright infringement, marking one of the latest legal battles between the creative industries and AI companies. However, the spotlight is currently on Anthropic AI, which has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a separate copyright infringement lawsuit brought by a group of authors.
The settlement, considered a landmark in copyright recovery history, covers an estimated 500,000 books. It is one of the largest copyright settlements involving generative artificial intelligence and is expected to lead to more licensing that gives authors both compensation and control over the use of their work by AI companies.
The authors who filed the lawsuit against Anthropic AI are Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson, accusing Anthropic of using illegally downloaded books for training their AI systems. The judge's order asserts that Anthropic pirated more than 7 million copies of books.
The settlement does not prevent AI companies from training their large language models on copyrighted works, as long as they obtain copies of those works legally. This provision is significant, as it allows for a possible avenue for AI companies to continue their work while respecting copyright laws.
The fair use doctrine was invoked by AI companies trying to make the case for the use of copyrighted works to train their generative AI models. However, the court's decision in this case could set a precedent for future cases, clarifying the boundaries of fair use in the context of AI.
The Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger stated that the settlement is a vital step in acknowledging that AI companies cannot simply steal authors' creative work. The settlement resolves the plaintiffs' remaining legacy claims, according to Anthropic Deputy General Counsel Aparna Sridhar.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria granted Meta's request for a summary judgment in Ta-Nehisi Coates and Sarah Silverman's case against the tech corporation, effectively putting an end to that lawsuit.
In a separate development, Anthropic AI has announced the completion of a new funding round worth $13 billion, bringing its total value to $183 billion. This funding could potentially be used to further Anthropic's efforts in complying with copyright laws and continuing its work in the AI field.
The settlement is in a case that involved the first substantive decision on how fair use applies to generative AI systems. As the legal landscape for AI continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see more cases like this in the future, shaping the relationship between AI companies and the creative industries.
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