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Sarah Silverman is one of the named plaintiffs in copyright case against OpenAI
| '''""'"""" | 07/30/25 |
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Date: July 30th, 2025 1:24 PM Author: '''""'"""" 🧾 Background & Plaintiffs • In July 2023, Sarah Silverman, along with authors Christopher Golden, Richard Kadrey, Paul Tremblay, and Mona Awad, filed a class-action lawsuit in the Northern District of California against OpenAI and Meta . • The complaint alleges OpenAI ingested Silverman’s memoir The Bedwetter without permission—likely sourced from a “shadow library” of pirated books—with no consent, credit, or compensation .
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⚖️ Legal Claims & Court Rulings
Claims Brought
Authors asserted multiple counts including: • Direct copyright infringement • Vicarious infringement, DMCA violations, unfair competition, negligence, and unjust enrichment  
Judicial Decisions • In February 2024, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín dismissed most claims, including vicarious infringement and unfair competition, leaving only the direct copyright infringement claim alive . • Silverman and co‑plaintiffs were permitted to amend their complaint to provide a clearer connection between OpenAI’s training data and alleged harm .
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🗣️ Plaintiff’s Perspective • Silverman has been vocal, stating in interviews that OpenAI used her work “without our knowledge, without consent, without any compensation” and that combating such a powerful entity is inherently tough .
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📂 Related Developments & Consolidation • Additional lawsuits involving prominent authors (e.g. Ta‑Nehisi Coates, Junot Díaz, George R. R. Martin) and news organizations (e.g., New York Times, Daily News) were filed against OpenAI and Microsoft. • In April 2025, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated 12 lawsuits in the Southern District of New York. Plaintiffs include Silverman and other authors, aiming for consistent treatment of shared copyright and fair use issues .
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🧠 Broader Legal Context • In separate cases, courts have wrestled with similar issues: • Meta’s case involving authors like Silverman and Coates was dismissed in June 2025—but the judge expressed deep skepticism about AI companies using pirated texts without licensing or compensation, and left the door open for future suits . • For Anthropic, a judge found AI training to be transformative fair use, but mandated a trial over sourcing content from pirated sites  .
These parallel cases underscore the uncertain and evolving nature of copyright law as applied to AI.
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