Investigative journalist John Carreyrou, famed for exposing Theranos, has filed a federal lawsuit against Google, xAI, OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, and Perplexity over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted books in AI training. The complaint, filed in California federal court, claims the AI companies fed these books into large language models (LLMs) powering their chatbots without permission.
Five other authors joined Carreyrou in the lawsuit, which seeks individual claims rather than a class action. The plaintiffs argue that class-action settlements favor defendants, allowing tech companies to negotiate a single payment for thousands of claims.
Allegations Against AI Firms
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants pirated copyrighted works to train their AI systems, infringing authors’ intellectual property rights. Unlike prior cases, this complaint is the first to name Elon Musk’s xAI as a defendant. Carreyrou and the other authors insist that AI companies should not extinguish high-value copyright claims cheaply.
Previous AI copyright settlements have drawn criticism. In August, Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to a class of authors who alleged book piracy. The new complaint notes that affected authors received only a tiny fraction of the statutory maximum of $150,000 per work under the Copyright Act.
Legal Context and Commentary
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys at Freedman Normand Friedland, including Kyle Roche, previously profiled by Carreyrou. During a November hearing in the Anthropic case, US District Judge William Alsup criticized Roche’s law firm for attempting to secure better deals for authors opting out of the original settlement. Roche declined to comment.
Carreyrou described the unauthorized use of books by AI companies as Anthropic’s “original sin,” arguing that the settlement did not sufficiently address the alleged infringement. The lawsuit emphasizes that the AI industry must respect copyright protections while developing language models.
Potential Impact on the AI Industry
This case adds to a growing number of copyright disputes involving AI companies, highlighting ongoing concerns about training AI systems with copyrighted materials. Legal experts suggest the outcome could influence how AI firms source data and handle intellectual property in future LLM development.
While the defendants have not yet responded publicly, the lawsuit may shape regulatory and industry standards for AI training practices globally. Authors and creators continue to push for stronger protections as AI technologies expand.
