Lawsuit Filed Against AI Company Over Alleged Use of Books for Training

More than 100 authors filed a lawsuit in federal court on June 17 seeking over $75 million from a San Francisco-based AI company. The complaint alleges the company used pirated copies of books to train its artificial intelligence systems. The filing states that the company accessed more than 500 books through file-sharing networks and sites including Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror.

Named works include the New York Times bestseller "Get Good with Money" by Tiffany Aliche and the international bestseller "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel.

Allegations in the complaint The suit claims the company infringed the copyrights of at least 100 authors. It lists individuals including Nolan Bushnell, Zachary Sklar, and Donna Barba Higuera among those whose works were allegedly used. Authors are seeking $150,000 for each allegedly pirated work.

The complaint further alleges that the company redistributed the downloaded material after uploading it to an internal library for use by its AI models.

Prior legal actions The filing references an earlier case involving thousands of writers that ended in a settlement. Under that agreement, the company agreed to destroy certain downloaded copies while remaining subject to potential infringement claims related to AI-generated material.

Each author in the prior case reportedly received about $3,000 per work. Across multiple lawsuits, the company is alleged to have used approximately 7 million creative works in total. A lawyer for the plaintiffs stated that the case raises the question of whether the company's actions constitute innovation or theft.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.