Tremblay v. OpenAI — Author Copyright Class Action (N.D. Cal.)
N.D. Cal. · Tremblay v. OpenAI, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03223 (N.D. Cal.)
Authors Paul Tremblay and Mona Awad filed one of the first author copyright suits against OpenAI in the Northern District of California in June 2023, alleging ChatGPT was trained on their copyrighted books without permission. Now consolidated with Silverman, Chabon, and other West Coast author actions before Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín.
Technical detail
Tremblay v. OpenAI, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03223 (N.D. Cal., filed June 28, 2023; Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín). Putative class for direct copyright infringement, vicarious infringement, DMCA § 1202, unfair business practices (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200), negligence, and unjust enrichment. Feb. 12, 2024: court dismissed vicarious infringement, DMCA, negligence, and unjust enrichment claims with leave to amend; direct infringement claim survives. Consolidated for case management with Silverman, Chabon, In re OpenAI ChatGPT Litigation.
Who is protected: Class of U.S. book authors whose works appear in OpenAI training corpora
Who must comply: OpenAI, Inc.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | N.D. Cal. |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Blocked / in litigation |
| Protection strength | Moderate protection |
| Effective date | 2023-06-28 |
| Citation | Tremblay v. OpenAI, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03223 (N.D. Cal.) |
| Topics | copyright and training data |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | Tremblay v. OpenAI — CourtListener 3:23-cv-03223 ↗ |
More AI rules in N.D. Cal.
- 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
- 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- USPTO AI Inventorship Guidance · Repealed / replaced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See something wrong or out of date?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.