Press release – Authors and Publishers Unite in Lawsuit against Meta to Protect Copyright from Infringement by Generative AI Developers
The Syndicat national de l’édition (SNE – French Publishers’ Association), the Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL – French Society of Writers) and the Syndicat national des auteurs et des compositeurs (SNAC – French Authors’ and Compositors’ Association) are taking Meta to Court (3rd chamber of the Paris Judicial Court) for the extensive use of copyrighted literary works, without their authors’ and publishers’ consent, to train its generative AI model.
“After discovering that Meta’s training datasets include numerous works published by members of the French Publishers’ Association (SNE), we are bringing this legal action to challenge both the infringement of copyright and economic free-riding. We are seeking to uphold fundamental principles, as the development of an AI market cannot come at the expense of the cultural sector,” comments SNE President Vincent Montagne.
This lawsuit comes amid European regulatory developments following the AI Act, which requires generative AI providers to comply with copyright law and ensure transparency about the sources they use to train foundation models. At the AI Action Summit, 38 international organizations representing the creative and cultural sectors also released an International Charter on Culture and Innovation to defend copyright and intellectual property against AI.
“This lawsuit should also serve to compel AI providers to commit to valuing creation, respecting its legal framework and, when necessary, offering fair remuneration for the works they use. This is crucial to safeguarding a fragile ecosystem whose strength lies in its editorial diversity,” adds SGDL President Christophe Hardy.
Lastly, SNAC President Francois Peyrony explains: “This unprecedented lawsuit in France also aims to pave the way for similar actions to protect authors from the dangers of AI which misappropriates literary works and our cultural heritage in order to train models and generate “fake books” that compete with genuine works by real authors.”
The plaintiffs are seeking respect for copyright and the complete withdrawal of datasets created without permission and used to train AI models.
Press contacts:
SNE: Hélène Conand, Chief Communications Officer, hconand@sne.fr
SGDL: Virginie Frenay, Head of Communications, communication@sgdl.org
SNAC: Maïa Bensimon, Executive Officer, ladirection@snac.fr
