Federal Judge Backs Anthropic in Lawsuit Over Unlicensed AI Training on Books

Federal judge William Alsup ruled that Anthropic’s practice of using published books to train its AI models without securing author permissions is legal. This decision marks a significant development, being the first time courts have recognized that the fair use doctrine could shield AI companies from liability for utilizing copyrighted materials in the creation of large language models (LLMs).

This verdict presents a challenge for authors, artists, and publishers who have filed numerous lawsuits against tech companies like OpenAI, Meta, Midjourney, and Google. While this ruling does not guarantee that other judges will follow Judge Alsup’s logic, it sets a precedent that may lead courts to support technology firms over creative individuals.

The fate of these lawsuits largely depends on how judges interpret the fair use doctrine, a complicated aspect of copyright law that hasn’t been updated since 1976—a time before the internet and the advent of generative AI training datasets.

Fair use considerations focus on the purpose of the use (where parody and education could serve as valid justifications), whether the work is reproduced for profit (creating “Star Wars” fan fiction is allowed, but selling it is not), and the extent to which the derivative work transforms the original.

Companies like Meta have similarly claimed fair use in defending their use of copyrighted material for training, yet the court’s position had been uncertain prior to this week’s ruling.

In the case of Bartz v. Anthropic, the plaintiff authors also raised issues regarding how Anthropic collected and stored their works. The lawsuit alleges that Anthropic sought to establish a “central library” containing “all the books in the world” for permanent retention. However, millions of these copyrighted texts were reportedly obtained from pirated websites, which is undeniably illegal.

While the judge recognized Anthropic’s use of these materials as fair use, a trial will still take place to investigate the particulars of the “central library.”

“We will hold a trial on the pirated copies used to build Anthropic’s central library and the resultant damages,” Judge Alsup stated in his ruling. “Just because Anthropic eventually bought a book it initially stole from the internet does not free it from theft liability, although it may affect the determination of statutory damages.”