Michaela
Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, has won a significant legal battle after a U.S. federal judge determined the company did not break copyright laws by using works from 13 authors to train its AI systems without obtaining prior consent.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria noted that the court granted summary judgment in favor of Meta, ruling that the authors behind the lawsuit failed to provide adequate evidence that the company’s use of their books to train AI models caused them any harm.
In 2023, a group of authors, including comedian Sarah Silverman and writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, filed a lawsuit against Meta, accusing the company of copyright infringement for allegedly using their published works to train its large language models without permission.
However, Judge Chhabria found that the authors failed to provide sufficient evidence that Meta’s AI systems would lead to market dilution by generating content that directly competed with their work.
As a result, he determined that Meta’s use of the copyrighted material qualified as “fair use”, a legal principle that permits limited use of protected content without authorization, shielding the company from copyright liability.
Despite ruling in Meta’s favor, Judge Chhabria acknowledged that using copyrighted material without permission to train large language models, such as those powering tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, could be unlawful in “many circumstances.” His remarks offered a measure of reassurance to creative professionals who argue that such practices infringe on their intellectual property rights.
Victoria Aveyard, author of the bestselling Red Queen series, has been among the most outspoken critics of Meta’s AI training practices.
In a March TikTok post, Aveyard accused the company of using her work without “[her] consent, without compensation, totally against [her] will,” referencing a database published by The Atlantic that allows authors to check whether their books were included in AI training datasets. She noted that Meta had scraped all 50 of her titles, including those translated into multiple languages.
Meanwhile, Meta welcomed the court’s decision, with a company spokesperson telling Reuters that it supports the principle of fair use, calling it a “vital legal framework” for building “transformative” AI technology.
Artificial intelligence systems have recently become the focus of numerous legal disputes concerning alleged copyright infringement. Among these, OpenAI and The New York Times are engaged in an ongoing legal battle, with the Times asserting that OpenAI used its articles without authorization.
OpenAI maintains that its activities fall within the bounds of fair use and emphasizes the significance of advancing AI technology. In December 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman commented on the ongoing lawsuit, asserting that the news organization is on the “wrong side of history.”
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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
