Penguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against AI company OpenAI, alleging that the company's ChatGPT has infringed the company's copyrights by reproducing content from a popular German children's book series.
According to The Guardian, the lawsuit was filed in Germany last week and targets OpenAI's Irish European subsidiary.
According to Penguin Random House, ChatGPT, with user prompts, is capable of generating stories, images, and even cover designs that are almost indistinguishable from the original works of the German children's author Ingo Siegner's Coconut, the Little Dragon (in German Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss) book series. The publisher states that ChatGPT was also able to copy the texts from the back covers of the books - and when asked, provided instructions on how to make money from copies of Siegner's books produced by ChatGPT, by publishing them on various self-publishing platforms. According to Penguin Random House, OpenAI has used the works of the author it represents (Siegner) as training material without permission.
This book series is one of Germany's most famous children's books and has expanded to over 30 volumes; additionally, a television series and several films have been made from the series. The main character of the series is an orange dragon named Coconut, whose adventures have been widely popular with children. According to the publisher, the AI model's ability to produce disturbingly accurate copies suggests that the original books have been used to train the AI without proper licenses.
According to RTL, the publisher's legal team first approached OpenAI with a formal request to remove the controversial material from ChatGPT, but when no response was received, legal action was taken. Penguin Random House emphasizes that protecting intellectual property rights is a primary goal, even though the company admits to being open in principle to the opportunities offered by AI.
An OpenAI spokesperson commented that the company is investigating the allegations and engaging in constructive discussions with several publishers to find ways for content owners to also benefit from AI technologies. However, the company did not have the opportunity to comment in more detail at the time the lawsuit was filed.
The lawsuit is particularly significant in Germany, as Penguin Random House is owned by the German media giant Bertelsmann, which last year signed a broad cooperation agreement with OpenAI. However, the agreement focuses on Bertelsmann's online, television, and magazine media, and does not cover the company's book business.
According to Penguin Random House, ChatGPT, with user prompts, is capable of generating stories, images, and even cover designs that are almost indistinguishable from the original works of the German children's author Ingo Siegner's Coconut, the Little Dragon (in German Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss) book series. The publisher states that ChatGPT was also able to copy the texts from the back covers of the books - and when asked, provided instructions on how to make money from copies of Siegner's books produced by ChatGPT, by publishing them on various self-publishing platforms. According to Penguin Random House, OpenAI has used the works of the author it represents (Siegner) as training material without permission.
This book series is one of Germany's most famous children's books and has expanded to over 30 volumes; additionally, a television series and several films have been made from the series. The main character of the series is an orange dragon named Coconut, whose adventures have been widely popular with children. According to the publisher, the AI model's ability to produce disturbingly accurate copies suggests that the original books have been used to train the AI without proper licenses.
According to RTL, the publisher's legal team first approached OpenAI with a formal request to remove the controversial material from ChatGPT, but when no response was received, legal action was taken. Penguin Random House emphasizes that protecting intellectual property rights is a primary goal, even though the company admits to being open in principle to the opportunities offered by AI.
An OpenAI spokesperson commented that the company is investigating the allegations and engaging in constructive discussions with several publishers to find ways for content owners to also benefit from AI technologies. However, the company did not have the opportunity to comment in more detail at the time the lawsuit was filed.
The lawsuit is particularly significant in Germany, as Penguin Random House is owned by the German media giant Bertelsmann, which last year signed a broad cooperation agreement with OpenAI. However, the agreement focuses on Bertelsmann's online, television, and magazine media, and does not cover the company's book business.
