In a pivotal legal battle known as Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, bestselling authors Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates have taken center stage in a case concerning AI copyright issues. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, in 2023, this case highlights significant challenges faced by Meta Platforms in its AI development efforts. The lawsuit focuses on allegations of unauthorized book usage for training AI models, prompting Meta to pause certain AI-related book licensing activities.
Meta's attempts to engage publishers in licensing agreements encountered notable setbacks. In early April 2023, the company halted its efforts due to logistical challenges and slow engagement from publishers. This delay reflects broader industry complications, as many publishers, particularly within the fiction sector, lacked the rights to license the content Meta intended to use. Choudhury, a representative from Meta, noted the difficulties, stating:
“I’d like to point out that the — in the fiction category, we quickly learned from the business development team that most of the publishers we were talking to, they themselves were representing that they did not have, actually, the rights to license the data to us.”
In addition to fiction, Meta faced similar hurdles with textbook data, leading to minimal engagement from publishers. As a result, Meta sought alternative solutions to advance its AI initiatives. Choudhury elaborated on this strategy:
“And in the same way that I’m describing here for fiction and textbook data, we got very little engagement to even have a conversation […] We decided to — in that case, we decided to build our own solution.”
The plaintiffs allege that Meta engaged in unethical practices by cross-referencing pirated books with copyrighted ones to determine potential licensing agreements. They accuse Meta of utilizing "shadow libraries" and "open" models, with some libraries potentially acquired through torrenting. Choudhury acknowledged past licensing efforts, mentioning:
“I am aware of licensing efforts such, for example, we tried to license 3D worlds from different game engine and game manufacturers for our AI research team.”
The court filings submitted by the plaintiffs' counsel include partial transcripts of Meta employee depositions, reinforcing claims that Meta paused discussions with book publishers. These new filings add weight to earlier reports regarding the company's halted licensing negotiations.
As one of many similar cases unfolding across the U.S. legal landscape, Kadrey v. Meta Platforms underscores the growing tensions between technology companies and copyright holders. The evolving legal framework around AI and copyright presents complex challenges for all parties involved.
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