‘Game of Thrones’ Creator George R.R. Martin and Other Authors Sue OpenAI for Copyright Infringement
Seventeen authors — including George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, and Jodi Picoult — are suing OpenAI. The latest lawsuit follows several others initiated by writers fed up with artificial intelligence using their creative work without permission.
As reported by Associated Press, the authors allege “flagrant and harmful infringements of plaintiffs’ registered copyrights” and describe OpenAI's ChatGPT software as a “massive commercial enterprise” reliant upon “systematic theft on a mass scale.”
“It is imperative that we stop this theft in its tracks or we will destroy our incredible literary culture, which feeds many other creative industries in the U.S.,” Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger says in a statement. “Great books are generally written by those who spend their careers and, indeed, their lives, learning and perfecting their crafts. To preserve our literature, authors must have the ability to control if and how their works are used by generative AI.”
The Lawsuit Claims That Someone Used ChatGPT to Generate a Prequel to George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones
The lawsuit cites specific searches for each author. One search for George R.R. Martin alleges that ChatGPT generated “an infringing, unauthorized, and detailed outline for a prequel” to Game of Thrones titled A Dawn of Direwolves, using “the same characters from Martin’s existing books in the series A Song of Ice and Fire.”
An unnamed OpenAI spokesperson — perhaps an AI itself — said in a statement that the company respects “the rights of writers and authors, and believe they should benefit from AI technology.” The statement continues:
“We’re having productive conversations with many creators around the world, including the Authors Guild, and have been working cooperatively to understand and discuss their concerns about AI. We’re optimistic we will continue to find mutually beneficial ways to work together to help people utilize new technology in a rich content ecosystem.”
In a similar lawsuit earlier this month, authors Michael Chabon, David Henry Hwang, and others sued OpenAI for “clear infringement of intellectual property.” In August, Open AI asked a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits by comedian Sarah Silverman and author Paul Tremblay, saying that the claims “misconceive the scope of copyright, failing to take into account the limitations and exceptions (including fair use) that properly leave room for innovations like the large language models now at the forefront of artificial intelligence.”
Other authors listed in the Authors Guild lawsuit involving Martin include David Baldacci, Sylvia Day, Jonathan Franzen, and Elin Hilderbrand.
Robert DeSalvo is a professional writer and editor with over 25 years of experience at print and online publications such as Movieline, Playboy, PCH, Fandango, and The A.V. Club. He currently lives in Los Angeles, the setting of his favorite movie, Blade Runner. Robert has interviewed dozens of actors, directors, authors, musicians, and other celebrities during his journalism career, including Brian De Palma, Nicolas Cage, Dustin Hoffman, John Waters, Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, Bryan Cranston, Anne Rice, and many more. Horror movies, sci-fi, cult films as well as gothic, postpunk, and synthwave music are what Robert geeks over.
