Nvidia Faces Lawsuit from Authors for Unauthorized AI Use of Copyrighted Books
Authors Allege Nvidia Used Their Works to Train NeMo’s Large Language Models
Nvidia, a prominent player in the field of artificial intelligence, is facing legal action from three authors who allege that the company utilized their copyrighted books without obtaining proper authorization to train its NeMo AI platform. Brian Keene, Abdi Nazemian, and Stewart O’Nan are among the authors who claim that their literary works were included in a dataset of approximately 196,640 books used to train NeMo in emulating typical written language. The dataset was eventually removed in October following reports of copyright infringement.
In a proposed class action lawsuit filed on Friday evening in a San Francisco federal court, the authors assert that Nvidia’s removal of the dataset effectively acknowledges the company’s use of their copyrighted material in training NeMo. Consequently, they argue that Nvidia’s actions constitute copyright infringement, as they were conducted without the necessary permissions or licenses from the copyright holders.
The lawsuit sheds light on the broader issue of intellectual property rights in the realm of artificial intelligence and machine learning. As AI technologies continue to advance and become increasingly integrated into various industries, questions surrounding the legality of using copyrighted materials for training purposes have become more prominent.
Nvidia’s NeMo platform, which relies on large language models, is just one example of the numerous AI systems that require extensive datasets for training. However, the use of copyrighted material in these datasets has raised concerns about potential copyright violations and the need for clearer guidelines regarding the use of intellectual property in AI development.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for both Nvidia and the wider AI community, as it may influence future practices surrounding the use of copyrighted material in AI training datasets. It underscores the importance of addressing copyright issues in AI development to ensure that intellectual property rights are respected and protected.
Nvidia, whose chips power artificial intelligence, has been sued by three authors who said it used their copyrighted books without permission to train its NeMo AI platform.Brian Keene, Abdi Nazemian and Stewart O’Nan said their works were part of a dataset of about 196,640 books that helped train NeMo to simulate ordinary written language, before being taken down in October “due to reported copyright infringement.”
In a proposed class action filed on Friday night in San Francisco federal court, the authors said the takedown reflects Nvidia’s having “admitted” it trained NeMo on the dataset, and thereby infringed their copyrights.
