Hollywood backs NYT in AI copyright fight with OpenAI and Microsoft
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A coalition of organizations representing creative talent across music, film, TV, performing arts and creative writing entered the high-stakes legal battle over AI and copyright last week, filing amicus briefs siding with the New York Times in its landmark case against OpenAI and Microsoft.
Why it matters: The case has become a proxy fight for the future of the broader creative economy beyond journalism.
Zoom in: Several briefs filed Friday all support the Times' argument that AI firms should not be allowed to use publishers' material to train their large language models.
- Hollywood stars, including Anne Hathaway, Bette Midler and Madonna, voiced their support for the Times in a brief filed by The Human Consent Foundation, which includes talent giant CAA and several coalitions representing musical artists, voice actors, writers and others.
- Major music groups, including the Recording Industry Association of America, National Music Publishers' Association, ASCAP and BMI, filed their own brief.
- Large labor unions such as SAG-AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians and the Writers Guild of America East and West filed their own brief to "defend the rights and livelihoods of more than 250,000 entertainment and media workers."
- Talent agencies, such as WME, also weighed in. WME declared an official position on the issue, arguing AI use of creative materials shouldn't be stopped, "but that it should be licensed."
Zoom out: The broad support across groups with different commercial imperatives also shows the creative community recognizes what's at stake, even if it does not have the incentive or need to wage its own lawsuits.
- News outlets, authors and music publishers have led the charge in filing lawsuits to protect their IP, but the briefs filed last week show the court how broad the implications of this fight could be.
Several journalism organizations, including the News/Media Alliance and a coalition of local journalism groups, also filed briefs supporting the Times, emphasizing the financial sustainability of the journalism industry.
The big picture: A recurring theme in the amicus briefs filed last week focuses on how AI companies shouldn't be broadly exempted from licensing copyrighted content.
- This is a notable position, given how much U.S. creative industries have historically relied on licensing agreements for music, TV and film distribution.
- OpenAI and other firms have argued that creating a licensing system for digital content would be too cumbersome. The Justice Department has supported that argument for training AI models, but not necessarily for outputs of AI queries.
What to watch: Hollywood's support comes as the Times has expanded its legal battle against the AI industry.
- The company, alongside other publishers, on Monday sued web browser Brave, alleging it scraped its copyrighted works and distributed it to AI firms.
