Authors Sue Nvidia Over Alleged Copyright Infringement in AI Training
This legal action adds Nvidia to the list of companies facing litigation over the use of generative AI technology.
Three authors have filed a lawsuit against Nvidia, alleging that the tech giant used their copyrighted works without permission to train its NeMo AI platform. Brian Keene, Abdi Nazemian, and Stewart O'Nan claim that their books were included in a dataset of approximately 196,640 books used to train NeMo in simulating ordinary written language. The dataset was subsequently taken down in October following reports of copyright infringement, per Reuters report.
Filed as a proposed class action in the San Francisco federal court on Friday, the lawsuit asserts that Nvidia's use of the dataset constitutes copyright infringement. The authors argue that Nvidia's acknowledgment of training NeMo on the dataset supports their claim of infringement. They seek unspecified damages on behalf of individuals in the United States whose copyrighted works contributed to training NeMo's large language models over the past three years. The case, titled Nazemian et al v Nvidia Corp, is being heard in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California under case number 24-01454.
Among the works mentioned in the lawsuit are Keene's "Ghost Walk" (2008), Nazemian's "Like a Love Story" (2019), and O'Nan's "Last Night at the Lobster" (2007). Nvidia has declined to comment on the lawsuit, while lawyers representing the authors have not responded to requests for additional comment.
This legal action adds Nvidia to the list of companies facing litigation over the use of generative AI technology. Generative AI, which creates new content based on various inputs, has drawn scrutiny from writers and media organizations like the New York Times. Nvidia's NeMo platform is marketed as a fast and affordable solution for adopting generative AI.
The lawsuit against Nvidia joins a series of legal challenges targeting companies involved in AI development. OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT AI platform, and its partner Microsoft have also faced lawsuits related to generative AI technology.
Despite the legal challenges, Nvidia's prominence in AI has made it a favored investment option, with its stock price experiencing significant growth in recent years. As one of the leading chipmakers in the AI industry, Nvidia has seen its market value soar, reaching nearly $2.2 trillion.
