Doe v. GitHub / OpenAI / Microsoft — Copilot Code Scraping Class Action (N.D. Cal.)
N.D. Cal. · Doe 1 v. GitHub, Inc., No. 4:22-cv-06823 (N.D. Cal.)
Anonymous software developers sued GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI in November 2022, alleging GitHub Copilot trained on their open-source code in violation of open-source licenses (which require attribution) and DMCA § 1202. After significant attrition of claims, a narrowed case survives.
Technical detail
Doe 1 v. GitHub, Inc., No. 4:22-cv-06823 (N.D. Cal., filed Nov. 3, 2022; Judge Jon S. Tigar). Original DMCA § 1202(b) claim dismissed July 5, 2024 for lack of identical-copy allegation under Ninth Circuit's identical-copy rule; surviving claims relate to breach of open-source license terms (e.g., MIT, GPL) and state-law unjust enrichment as to a narrowed subset. Plaintiffs continue to litigate against GitHub and OpenAI.
Who is protected: Open-source software developers whose code was used to train Copilot
Who must comply: GitHub, Inc., Microsoft Corp., OpenAI, Inc.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | N.D. Cal. |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Blocked / in litigation |
| Protection strength | Limited protection |
| Effective date | 2022-11-03 |
| Citation | Doe 1 v. GitHub, Inc., No. 4:22-cv-06823 (N.D. Cal.) |
| Topics | copyright and training data · consumer data privacy |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | Doe v. GitHub — CourtListener 4:22-cv-06823 ↗ |
More AI rules in N.D. Cal.
- Tremblay v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
- Silverman v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
- Kadrey v. Meta · Blocked / in litigation
- Chabon v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
- Chabon v. Meta · Blocked / in litigation
- Andersen v. Stability AI · Blocked / in litigation
Related copyright and training data rules elsewhere
- Copyright Office AI Guidance · In effect
- USPTO AI Inventorship Guidance · Repealed / replaced
- AB 2013 (Training Data Transparency) · In effect
- ELVIS Act · In effect
- SSB 5886 (WA Digital Likeness Rights) · In effect
- AR Generative AI Ownership Act (Act 927) · In effect
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