Kadrey v. Meta Platforms — Author Copyright Class Action against Llama (N.D. Cal.)
N.D. Cal. · Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417 (N.D. Cal.)
Authors Richard Kadrey, Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden — later joined by Junot Díaz, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Andrew Sean Greer and others — sued Meta in July 2023 over the use of pirated books (LibGen / Books3) to train Llama. In June 2025 Judge Chhabria granted Meta partial summary judgment on fair use for these specific plaintiffs, but the ruling was narrow and the case continues on remaining theories.
Technical detail
Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417 (N.D. Cal., filed July 7, 2023; Judge Vince Chhabria). Claims: direct copyright infringement, DMCA § 1202, unfair competition. Nov. 20, 2023: most non-direct-infringement claims dismissed. June 25, 2025: court granted summary judgment to Meta on fair use as applied to these plaintiffs' Llama-training claim, while emphasizing the result was driven by plaintiffs' failure of proof on market harm and was not a categorical endorsement of training-on-pirated-books as fair use. Other plaintiffs in the consolidated proceedings continue to litigate.
Who is protected: Class of U.S. book authors whose works appear in LibGen / Books3 training corpora
Who must comply: Meta Platforms, Inc.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | N.D. Cal. |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Blocked / in litigation |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2023-07-07 |
| Citation | Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417 (N.D. Cal.) |
| Topics | copyright and training data |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | Kadrey v. Meta — CourtListener 3:23-cv-03417 ↗ |
More AI rules in N.D. Cal.
- Tremblay v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
- Silverman v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
- Chabon v. OpenAI · Blocked / in litigation
- Chabon v. Meta · Blocked / in litigation
- Andersen v. Stability AI · Blocked / in litigation
- Doe v. GitHub (Copilot) · 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- USPTO AI Inventorship Guidance · Repealed / replaced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
See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction — every entry must carry a verifiable official source.