In a legal clash that could redraw the borders of artificial intelligence and copyright law, bestselling authors suing OpenAI are asking a federal judge to force the company to open the books on its $1 billion licensing deal with Disney, arguing the agreement may undercut OpenAI’s fair-use defense.
In a letter filed Monday with U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang, authors including George R.R. Martin, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult urged the court to order disclosure of the Disney agreement, announced last month. They contend the deal could prove that a legitimate licensing market for AI training not only exists, but is viable.
Authors Say Disney Deal Could Shift Fair-Use Analysis
The writers argue that the Disney arrangement — which allows OpenAI to use iconic characters for its AI video generator Sora — is directly relevant to the court’s fair-use inquiry, particularly the question of whether AI training harms the potential market for copyrighted works.
“Evidence of a license negotiated with a major media entity … tends to prove the feasibility of OpenAI entering into the licensing market and negotiating with plaintiffs to use their works lawfully,” the authors wrote. Depending on its terms, they added, the agreement may also demonstrate that a market already exists for licensing copyrighted material to develop generative AI.
The request comes amid multidistrict litigation in New York accusing OpenAI and its financial backer Microsoft of unlawfully using copyrighted texts to train large language models.
