A federal judge has allowed key portions of an AI copyright lawsuit against Meta to proceed, filed by authors Richard Kadrey, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Sarah Silverman. The authors allege Meta violated copyright laws by training its AI models using their books without permission.

US District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that the authors' copyright infringement claims constitute "obviously a concrete injury sufficient for standing." The judge also found that the authors adequately demonstrated Meta may have intentionally removed copyright management information (CMI) to conceal infringement.

While the judge dismissed claims related to the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act (CDAFA), internal Meta communications revealed during discovery raise serious concerns. Documents show Meta employees discussed using copyrighted works for AI training without proper licensing:

• Research engineer Xavier Martinet suggested purchasing retail ebooks rather than securing publisher licenses
• Senior manager Melanie Kambadur proposed using LibGen, a site previously fined for copyright infringement
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg allegedly approved training on copyrighted content through "legally questionable" means while halting licensing discussions with publishers

The case highlights growing tensions between AI companies and content creators over the use of copyrighted materials for AI training. Meta's defense relies on fair use doctrine, but the judge's ruling suggests the company may face significant legal challenges ahead.

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