Silverman et al. v. OpenAI, Inc. et al., 3:23-cv-03416 (N.D. Cal.), now part of MDL No. 3143 (S.D.N.Y.)

Summary

Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden and Richard Kadrey filed this proposed class action against OpenAI entities in the Northern District of California on July 7, 2023. They allege that OpenAI copied their books without permission to train the large language models behind ChatGPT, and they plead direct and vicarious copyright infringement, DMCA, unfair competition, negligence and unjust enrichment claims. On February 12, 2024, the court ruled on OpenAI's motions to dismiss in this case and the nearly identical Tremblay case (OpenAI did not seek dismissal of the direct infringement count) and ordered the cases consolidated with Chabon. On April 3, 2025, the case was transferred to the Southern District of New York as part of MDL No. 3143, where the authors' claims proceed in a consolidated class case. The claims remain allegations.

Key dates

1. July 7, 2023Filed
2. October 16, 2026Checked against sources
3. October 21, 2026Checked against sources

Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: January 15, 2027.

Evidence

Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.

1. Case 3:23-cv-03416 Document 1 Filed 07/07/23 Page 1 of 17

   Supports: docket number and filing date

   Plaintiffs Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden, and Richard Kadrey ("Plaintiffs"), on behalf of

   Supports: plaintiffs

   Complaint, Silverman v. OpenAI, 3:23-cv-03416, ECF 1 U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

2. OpenAI filed the instant motions to dismiss on August 28, 2023, seeking dismissal of

   Supports: motion to dismiss covered Counts II to VI, not direct infringement

   Before the Court are two nearly identical putative class complaints in Tremblay et al v.

   Supports: ruling covered Silverman and Tremblay together

   Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part the Motions to Dismiss, Tremblay v. OpenAI, 3:23-cv-03223-AMO, ECF 104 (12 Feb. 2024) U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

3. SILVERMAN, ET AL. v. OPENAI, INC., ET AL., C.A. No. 3:23-03416

   Supports: transfer to MDL No. 3143

   Transfer Order, In re OpenAI, Inc., Copyright Infringement Litigation, MDL No. 3143 (Doc. 85, 3 Apr. 2025) U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation Primary source