OpenAI Attorneys Ordered to Share Internal Communications in Copyright MDL

By Editorial Team

A New York federal magistrate judge has ruled that OpenAI's in-house attorneys must disclose their internal communications related to deleted training datasets in a copyright multidistrict litigation (MDL) case. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI used copyrighted works to train its ChatGPT model.

The judge's decision came after OpenAI argued that the communications were privileged. However, the court rejected this argument, emphasizing the importance of transparency in the legal process.

The case involves authors who claim that OpenAI used their copyrighted works without permission. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the unauthorized use of their intellectual property in training the ChatGPT model.

Several prominent law firms are involved in the case, representing both the plaintiffs and OpenAI. The legal teams include Cowan DeBaets, Faegre Drinker, Keker Van Nest & Peters, Latham & Watkins, Lieff Cabraser, Morrison & Foerster, Orrick Herrington, Rothwell Figg, and Susman Godfrey.

Notable companies such as Microsoft Corp., OpenAI OpCo LLC, and The New York Times Co. are also mentioned in the lawsuit. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is overseeing the proceedings.

While OpenAI's attorneys are now required to share their internal communications, the case is ongoing, and further developments are expected as the litigation progresses.