Publishers and Authors File Brief Against OpenAI and Microsoft Over Copyright Use

The Authors Guild, along with the Association of American Publishers, Independent Book Publishers Association, International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers, and Copyright Clearance Center, filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs suing OpenAI and Microsoft. The plaintiffs, which include authors, book publishers, and news publishers, are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to dismiss claims that their copying of copyrighted materials constitutes fair use. The brief argues that allowing OpenAI to copy works without permission will dilute the market for original works and weaken licensing opportunities for publishers.

The legal challenge directly targets the core business model of OpenAI and Microsoft by questioning the fair use of copyrighted training data. The brief highlights that OpenAI allegedly used George R.R. Martin’s copyrighted *A Song of Ice and Fire* series to develop an LLM capable of writing the series' final books. This action could impact the revenue streams and licensing opportunities for publishers and authors.