AI Watch.dog

Copyright Lawsuits

Many creators see the AI industry's current training practices as large-scale copyright infringement. These are the ongoing lawsuits brought against generative AI companies.

Last updated Nov 28, 2025.

Artists

  1. Andersen v. Stability AI, Midjourney, Runway, DeviantArt filed Jan 13, 2023 in ND California over the use of art (via LAION-5B and LAION-400M) to train diffusion models (Stable Diffusion, Midjourney).
  2. Zhang v. Google filed Apr 26, 2024 in ND California over the use of art (via LAION-400M) to train a diffusion model (Imagen).

Writers

  1. Tremblay v. OpenAI filed Jun 28, 2023 in SD New York over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). On April 28, 2025 the case was transferred from ND California to SD New York.
  2. Kadrey v. Meta filed Jul 7, 2023 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (Llama). On June 25, 2025, Judge Chhabria ruled that defendants' copying of books for training was fair use, but that the ruling could have gone differently if plaintiffs' had been able to document harm to the market for their books.
  3. Silverman v. OpenAI filed Jul 7, 2023 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI and moved to SD New York on Apr 15, 2025.
  4. Chabon v. OpenAI filed Sep 8, 2023 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI and moved to SD New York on Apr 15, 2025.
  5. Chabon v. Meta filed Sep 12, 2023 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (Llama). Consolidated with Kadrey v. Meta.
  6. Authors Guild v. OpenAI filed Sep 19, 2023 in SD New York over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  7. Huckabee v. Bloomberg filed Oct 17, 2023 in SD New York over the use of books (via Books3) to train LLMs (BloombergGPT). Claims against EleutherAI were voluntarily dismissed Dec 26, 2023. Claims against Meta, and Microsoft were transferred to other cases on Dec 28, 2023.
  8. Alter v. OpenAI, Microsoft filed Nov 21, 2023 in SD New York over the use of books (BooksCorpus) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Dismissed Nov 7, 2024. Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  9. Basbanes v. Microsoft, OpenAI filed Jan 5, 2024 in SD New York over the use of nonfiction books (via Books3) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  10. O'Nan v. Databricks filed Mar 8, 2024 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (MPT).
  11. Nazemian v. NVIDIA filed Mar 8, 2024 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (NeMo Megatron–GPT).
  12. Dubus v. NVIDIA filed May 2, 2024 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (NeMo Megatron–GPT).
  13. Makkai v. Databricks filed May 2, 2024 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (MPT). Consolidated with O'Nan v. Databricks on Dec 2, 2024.
  14. Bartz v. Anthropic filed Aug 19, 2024 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (Claude). On June 23, 2025, Judge Alsup ruled that defendants' copying of books for training was fair use, but copying of pirated books to build an internal research library was not. On Sep 25, 2025, Anthropic settled with plaintiffs for approximately $1.5 billion.
  15. Farnsworth v. Meta filed Oct 1, 2024 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (Llama). Consolidated with Kadrey v. Meta on October 18, 2024.
  16. Bird v. Microsoft filed Jun 24, 2025 in SD New York over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (Megatron).
  17. Denial v. OpenAI filed Jun 30, 2025 in ND California over the use of books (via LibGen and BookCorpus) to train an LLMs (GPT-x series).
  18. MacKinnon v. Nvidia filed Jul 31, 2025 (approx) in British Columbia Supreme Court, Canada over the use of books to train LLMs. Class action.
  19. MacKinnon v. Meta filed Jul 31, 2025 (approx) in British Columbia Supreme Court, Canada over the use of books to train LLMs. Class action.
  20. MacKinnon v. Anthropic filed Jul 31, 2025 (approx) in British Columbia Supreme Court, Canada over the use of books to train LLMs. Class action.
  21. MacKinnon v. Databricks filed Jul 31, 2025 (approx) in British Columbia Supreme Court, Canada over the use of books to train LLMs. Class action.
  22. Hendrix v. Apple filed Sep 5, 2025 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train LLMs (OpenELM and Foundation Intelligence Models).
  23. Martinez-Conde v. Apple filed Oct 9, 2025 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train an LLM (OpenELM). Class action. Covered by Bloomberg.
  24. Tanzer et al v. Salesforce filed Oct 15, 2025 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train LLMs (XGen series). Class action.
  25. Alexander v. Apple filed Oct 22, 2025 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train LLMs (OpenELM and Foundation Intelligence Models). Class action.
  26. Alexander v. Salesforce filed Nov 5, 2025 in ND California over the use of books (via Books3) to train LLMs (CodeGen and XGen). Class action.

Actors and Video Producers

  1. Millette v. OpenAI filed Aug 2, 2024 in ND California over the use of videos and subtitles (from YouTube) to train a multimodal AI product (Gemini). Voluntarily dismissed on April 30, 2025.
  2. Millette v. Google filed Aug 2, 2024 in ND California over the use of video subtitles (from YouTube) to train AI products (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI and moved to SD New York on Apr 15, 2025.
  3. Millette v. Nvidia filed Aug 14, 2024 in ND California over the use of videos (from YouTube) to train an AI product (Cosmos). Voluntarily dismissed on March 24, 2025.
  4. Vacker v. ElevenLabs filed Aug 29, 2024 in Delaware over the use of actors' voices to train a voice-generating model.
  5. Lehrman v. Lovo filed May 16, 2024 in SD New York over the use of voice actors' voices to train a voice-generating model.
  6. Disney and Universal v. Midjourney filed Jun 11, 2025 in CD California over the use of copyrighted work to train image- and video-generating AI models. The complaint includes examples of generated images featuring copyrighted characters and refers to Midjourney as a "bottomless pit of plagiarism." Warner Brothers joined the lawsuit in September 2025.
  7. Strike 3 v. Meta filed Jul 23, 2025 in ND California over the downloading and distribution (via BitTorrent) of pirated (adult) movies to train video-generating models (Movie Gen, Llama, and others).
  8. Disney, Universal, Warner Bros v. Minimax filed Jun 16, 2025 in CD California over the use of copyrighted work to train a video-generating AI product (Hailuo Agent). The complaint includes examples of generated images featuring copyrighted characters.
  9. Warner Bros v. Midjourney filed Sep 4, 2025 in CD California over the use of copyrighted work to train image- and video-generating AI models. The case was merged with Disney and Universal v. Midjourney on 5 Nov 2025.
  10. Cameo v. OpenAI filed Oct 28, 2025 in ND California over the creation of a similar product with the same name (trademark infringement).

Publishers

  1. Getty Images v. Stability AI (in UK) filed 2023 in English High Court over the use of images to train a diffusion model (Stable Diffusion). In June 2025, Getty dropped its primary infringement claim due to a lack of evidence that Stability had performed training in the UK. On 4 Nov 2025, Judge Smith ruled largely in favor of Stability on the remaining claims of secondary infringement and trademark infringement. Although "models such as Stable Diffusion can be prone to...memorization," Judge Smith wrote, Stable Diffusion "does not store or reproduce any copyright works" and is therefore "not an 'infringing copy'."
  2. Getty Images v. Stability AI (in US) filed Feb 3, 2023 in Delaware over the use of images to train a diffusion model (Stable Diffusion). On August 14, 2025, Getty voluntarily dismissed this lawsuit and refiled a new one in the Northern District of California.
  3. New York Times v. Microsoft filed Dec 27, 2023 in SD New York over the use of news articles to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Complaint shows memorization of plaintiff's work. Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  4. The Intercept v. OpenAI filed Feb 28, 2024 in SD New York over the use of news articles (via WebText, WebText2, Common Crawl) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). On Nov 21, 2024, the court ruled plaintiffs' claim that defendents had violated DMCA by removing copyright management information (CMI) will proceed beyond the motion-to-dismiss phase of trial. Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  5. Raw Story Media v. OpenAI filed Feb 28, 2024 in SD New York over the use of news articles (via WebText, WebText2, Common Crawl) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  6. Daily News v. Microsoft and OpenAI filed Apr 30, 2024 in SD New York over the use of news articles (from New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, and others, via WebText and WebText2) to train LLMs (ChatGPT and Copilot). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  7. Center for Investigative Reporting v. OpenAI filed Jun 27, 2024 in SD New York over the use of news articles (via WebText and WebText2) to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Consolidated with Tremblay v. OpenAI on Apr 15, 2025.
  8. Dow Jones, New York Post v. Perplexity AI filed Oct 21, 2024 in SD New York over unauthorized scraping of news websites after refusal to license content.
  9. Asian News International v. OpenAI filed Nov 19, 2024 in Delhi High Court, India over the use of news articles to train an LLM (ChatGPT). Plaintiffs claim ChatGPT reproduces their work verbatim.
  10. Canadian news publishers v. OpenAI filed Nov 28, 2024 in Ontario over the use of news articles to train an LLM (ChatGPT).
  11. Federation of Indian Publishers v. OpenAI filed December 2024 in New Delhi, India over the use of copyrighted books to train an LLM (ChatGPT).
  12. Korean broadcasters v. Naver filed Jan 21, 2025 in South Korea over the use of news articles to train LLMs (HyperCLOVA, HyperCLOVA X).
  13. Advance Local Media v. Cohere AI filed Feb 13, 2025 in SD New York over the use of news articles to train LLMs (Command, Command R, and Command R+). Plaintiffs include Condé Nast, The Atlantic, Forbes, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, McClatchy, Newsday, Vox Media, and others. Plaintiffs claim that Cohere uses their articles to create a competing product and displays partial or full content of articles (memorization), without paying a licensing fee. "Cohere also blatantly manufactures fake pieces and attributes them to us, misleading the public and tarnishing our brands." On 13 Nov 2025, plaintiffs were granted additional discovery related to torrenting of pirated books.
  14. French publishers and authors v. Meta filed Mar 12, 2025 in Paris over the use of news articles to train an LLM. The lawsuit is brought by the National Publishing Union, the National Union of Authors and Composers, and the Societe des Gens de Lettres, which represents authors.
  15. Ziff Davis v. OpenAI filed Apr 24, 2025 in Delaware over the scraping of online articles to train an AI model (Claude). Ziff Davis's complaint shows verbatim reproductions of Ziff Davis articles by ChatGPT (memorization) and falsely attribute content to Ziff Davis articles. It also shows that OpenAI removed copyright management information (CMI) from Ziff Davis's articles before training on them.
  16. Reddit v. Anthropic filed Jun 4, 2025 in Superior Court of California over the scraping of online discussion forums to train an AI model (Claude). Reddit is suing for (1) breach of contract (Reddit User Agreement), (2) unjust enrichment, (3) trespass to chattels, and (4) tortious interference with contract.
  17. DPCMO (Danish publishers) v. OpenAI filed Jul 1, 2025 in Denmark over the scraping and use of copyrighted work to train ChatGPT.
  18. Mumsnet v. OpenAI filed Jul 18, 2025 (approx) in UK over scraping a parenting website (Mumsnet.com) for text to train an AI product (ChatGPT).
  19. Getty Images v. Stability AI (in US) filed Aug 14, 2023 in ND California over the use of images to train a diffusion model (Stable Diffusion). Getty claims Stability's model will "disseminate such vast quantities of competing content to users and dilute the value of Getty Images’ own offerings."
  20. Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster v. Perplexity filed Sep 10, 2025 in SD New York over the scraping of websites and display of AI-generated summaries that steals plaintiffs' readers. Plaintiffs demonstrate that some of Perplexity's outputs are substantially similar to (or verbatim copies of) plaintiffs' work. Plaintiffs allege copyright infringement during LLM input and output, false designation of origin, and dilution of plaintiffs’ trademarks.
  21. Penske Media v. Google filed Sep 12, 2025 in District of Columbia over "Google’s abuse of its adjudicated monopoly in General Search Services to coerce online publishers...to supply content that Google republishes without permission in AI-generated answers that unfairly compete for the attention of users," according to the complaint.
  22. Reddit v. SerpApi, Perplexity, et al filed Oct 22, 2025 in SD New York over scraping Reddit and using its content for profit. Alleges DMCA circumvention of technological control measures, trafficking of technology for circumvention of TCMs, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, and civil conspiracy ( between SerpApi and Perplexity). Covered by the New York Times.
  23. Entrepreneur Media v. Meta filed Nov 6, 2025 in ND California over the use of articles (via Library Genesis) to train a family of LLMs (Llama).

Musicians and Music Companies

  1. Universal Music Group v. Anthropic filed Oct 18, 2023 in ND California over the use of song lyrics to train an LLM (Claude). Complaint shows memorization of plaintiff's work. On Jan 2, 2025 judge granted a preliminary injunction compelling Anthropic to use "guardrails" that prevent Claude from outputting copyrighted material. (Case originally filed in Middle District, Tennessee.)
  2. RIAA v. Suno filed Jun 24, 2024 in Massachusetts over the use of songs to train audio-generating models.
  3. RIAA v. Uncharted Labs (Udio) filed Jun 24, 2024 in SD New York over the use of songs to train audio-generating models. UMG and Udio settled in Oct 2025.
  4. GEMA v. OpenAI filed Nov 13, 2024 in Munich I Regional Court over the use of copyrighted song lyrics to train an LLM (ChatGPT). On Nov 11, 2025, Judge Schwager ruled in favor of GEMA, writing that "The song lyrics at issue are reproducibly contained in the models. Their memorization constitutes a reproduction relevant under copyright law."
  5. GEMA v. Suno filed Jan 21, 2025 in Regional Court of Munich over the use of copyrighted audio to train a music-generating AI product.
  6. Justice v. Uncharted Labs (Udio) filed Jun 16, 2025 in SD New York over the use of copyrighted audio to train a music-generating AI product. The complaint references RIAA v. Udio but is brought on behalf of independent artists (class action).
  7. Justice v. Suno filed Jun 17, 2025 in Massachusetts over the use of copyrighted audio to train a music-generating AI product. The complaint references RIAA v. Suno and Udio but is brought on behalf of independent artists (class action).
  8. Woulard et al v. Uncharted Labs (Udio) filed Oct 15, 2025 in ND Illinois over the use of copyrighted audio to train a music-generating AI product. The complaint alleges that lyrics were scraped from lyrics websites and songs were stream-ripped from YouTube. Claims include right of publicity violation.
  9. Woulard et al v. Suno filed Oct 16, 2025 in ND Illinois over the use of copyrighted audio to train a music-generating AI product. The complaint alleges that lyrics were scraped from lyrics websites and songs were stream-ripped from YouTube. Claims include right of publicity violation.
  10. Koda v. Suno filed Nov 4, 2025 in Denmark over the use of "Danish music without permission and without paying for it" to train a music-generating AI product.

Programmers

  1. Doe v. GitHub, Microsoft, OpenAI filed Nov 3, 2022 in ND California over the removal of required attribution from code used for LLM (ChatGPT) training, unfair competition, privacy violations. Claims against OpenAI were voluntarily dismissed in July 2024.

Retailers

  1. Amazon v. Perplexity filed Nov 4, 2025 in ND California over the scraping of Amazon.com to allow Perplexity users to shop without accessing the site. Amazon alleges that Perplexity "chose to disguise an automated “agentic” browser as a human user, to evade Amazon’s technological barriers, and to access private customer accounts without Amazon’s permission." Explanation of Amazon's motivations from NYMag.

Other Relevant Cases

These are recent and ongoing cases about piracy, web scraping, and whether generated artwork can be copyrighted—topics relevant to the AI training lawsuits.

  • Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence filed May 6, 2020 in Delaware. Thomson Reuters claims Ross scraped a paywalled legal database to train a non-generative AI product that helps with legal research. There are open questions about whether Thomson Reuters's content is copyrightable. On Feb 11, 2025, Judge Bibas granted most of the plaintiff's motions for partial summary judgment on direct copyright infringement and fair use.
  • Thaler v. Perlmutter filed Jun 2, 2022 in Washington DC. Stephen Thaler claims the U.S. Copyright Office should grant copyright for an image he created with AI in November 2018. USCO says copyright is limited to "original intellectual conceptions of the author."
  • Meta v. Bright Data filed Jan 6, 2023 in ND California. Meta claimed Bright scraped Facebook and sold the data. The court ruled for Bright Data in Jan 2024 and Meta dropped the case.
  • X Corp. v. Bright Data filed Jul 26, 2023 in ND California. Twitter/X claimed Bright scraped and sold its data. The court dismissed X's complaint on May 9, 2024.
  • Cengage Learning v. Google filed Jun 5, 2024 in SD New York. Cengage claims Google has been advertising pirated e-books while rejecting ads for legitimate ones.
  • Allen v. Perlmutter filed Sep 26, 2024 in Washington DC. Jason Allen claims the U.S. Copyright Office should grant copyright for an image he created with Midjourney by refining a prompt 624 times.