In 2023, visual artists Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz initiated a class action lawsuit against several Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. They allege that these companies violated copyright law by using their artwork in the training datasets for their AI models. In a ruling on the defendants’ motion to dismiss issued in August 2024, Judge William Orrick of the Northern District of California allowed the plaintiffs’ copyright claims to move forward.
Judge Orrick not only permitted the artists’ direct infringement claims to continue but also rejected the motion to dismiss the claims of induced infringement. In his decision, he differentiated the AI models from VCRs, which have been the subject of previous copyright infringement lawsuits. He noted that unlike VCRs—which can be used for non-infringing purposes and do not come pre-loaded with infringing content—the plaintiffs presented a plausible case that the AI models inherently infringe on copyrighted works, thus allowing the induced copyright infringement claim to proceed.
As the case advances into the discovery phase, McKernan has expressed hope in uncovering critical information about the AI models that could strengthen the plaintiffs’ arguments. Given that this case is among the first to challenge AI companies over alleged copyright infringement related to training data, our DC IP lawyers see its outcome as likely to have significant repercussions for both the AI and copyright sectors.