Every AI Copyright Lawsuit in the United States, Visualized

In May 2020, media and technology conglomerate Thomson Reuters is suing a small legal AI startup called Ross Intelligence, which it claims had violated US copyright law by reproducing materials from Westlaw, Thomson Reuters’ legal research platform. While the pandemic raged, the cause did not register outside the small world of nerds obsessed with copyright rules. But it is now clear that the case, filed more than two years before the start of the AI ​​generative boom, was the first strike in a much bigger war between content publishers and artificial intelligence companies that are now unfolding in courts across the country. The result could make, break, or restructure the information ecosystem and the entire AI industry—and, in doing so, impact almost everyone on the Internet.

In the past two years, dozens of other copyright lawsuits against AI companies have been filed at a rapid clip. Stakeholders include individual authors such as Sarah Silverman and Ta Nehisi-Coates, visual artists, media companies such as The New York Times, and music industry giants such as Universal Music Group. This wide variety of rights holders claim that AI companies have used their work to train what are often very lucrative and powerful AI models in a way that amounts to theft. AI companies often defend themselves by relying on what is known as the “fair use” doctrine.Arguing that the construction of AI tools should be considered a situation where it is legal to use copyrighted materials without obtaining consent or paying compensation to the rights holders. (Widely accepted examples of fair use include parody, news reports, and academic research.) Almost every major generative AI company has been drawn into this legal battle, including OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, and Nvidia.

WIRED is keeping close tabs on how each of these lawsuits develop. We have created visualizations to help you track and contextualize which companies and rights holders are involved, where the cases have been filed, what they are removing, and everything else you need to know.

This first case, Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligenceis still making its way through the court system. A trial that was originally scheduled for earlier this year has been delayed indefinitely, and although the cost of litigation has already put Ross out of business, it’s unclear when it will end. Other cases, such as the closely watched lawsuit filed by the New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft, are currently ongoing. dispute discovery periodsduring which both parties are arguing about what information they need to return.