Meta, Zuckerberg Hit with Copyright Suit Over Llama AI Training
Meta, Zuckerberg Hit with Copyright Suit Over Llama AI Training
Publishers and author Turow allege Meta used books to train Llama, prompting a high-stakes legal battle in New York.
Five publishing houses and author Scott Turow filed a class-action in federal court in Manhattan, accusing Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg of copyright infringement for allegedly using millions of copyrighted works to train its Llama AI. The plaintiffs say Zuckerberg personally authorized and actively encouraged the infringement, noting Meta's prior motto 'move fast and break things' as indicative of the conduct.
The publishers named in the suit are Elsevier, Cengage, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan and McGraw Hill, and authors include Turow, James Patterson, Donna Tartt, former President Joe Biden, and others such as Yiyun Li and Amanda Vaill. The complaint alleges that Defendants reproduced and distributed works without permission or compensation, fully aware that their actions violated copyright law.
Meta responded by vowing to fight the lawsuit aggressively, saying AI is powering transformative innovations and that training AI on copyrighted material can qualify as fair use. The company argued that courts have recognized the potential for fair use in AI training.
The case signals a new front in the broader dispute over AI, copyright and training data, joining other high-profile actions in which creators seek greater control and compensation. Industry context includes a 2025 settlement where Anthropic agreed to pay about $1.5 billion in a related AI training case, illustrating the growing pressure on developers to address copyright concerns.
If successful, the suit could have implications for how tech firms acquire training data and how compensation is handled for authors and publishers in the AI era.
