Joseph Saveri Law Firm and Matthew Butterick File Class-Action Lawsuit Against GitHub, Microsoft, and OpenAI Over Violations of Open-Source Licenses Arising From GitHub Copilot, an AI-based product
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GitHub Copilot, an AI-based coding product made by GitHub in cooperation with OpenAI, appears to profit from the work of open-source programmers by violating the conditions of their open-source licenses. The Joseph Saveri Law Firm, a leading class-action firm with offices in California and New York, and Matthew Butterick, a lawyer and open-source programmer, are filing a class-action lawsuit against GitHub Copilot, its parent, Microsoft, and its AI-technology partner, OpenAI, on behalf of open-source programmers for these potential violations of open-source licenses. According to GitHub, Copilot has been trained on billions of lines of publicly-available code, leaving open-source programmers with serious concerns regarding license violations.
"I am grateful to the programmers and users who came forward to bring this case to fruition and ensure that corporations like Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI cannot unfairly profit from the work of open-source creators," said Joseph Saveri of the Joseph Saveri Law Firm. He continued, "This case represents the first major step in the battle against intellectual-property violations in the tech industry arising from artificial-intelligence systems. In this case, the work of open-source programmers is being exploited. But this will not be the last community of creators who are affected by AI systems. Our firm is committed to standing up for these creators and ensuring that companies developing AI products are held accountable under the law."
"As a longtime open-source programmer, it was apparent from the first time I tried Copilot that it raised serious legal concerns, which have been noted by many others since Copilot was first publicly previewed in 2021," said Matthew Butterick. He continued, "Because I'm also a lawyer, I felt compelled to stand up for the open-source community. I've known Joe since he started the Joseph Saveri Law Firm. He has built it into one of the finest class-action firms in the country. I'm pleased to be teaming up with Joe and his firm on behalf of the open-source programmers whose rights are being violated by Copilot."
ABOUT THE FIRM
The Joseph Saveri Law Firm is one of the country's most acclaimed, successful boutique firms, specializing in antitrust, class actions, and complex litigation on behalf of national and international consumers, purchasers, and employees across diverse industries. For further information on our practice and accomplishments on behalf of our clients, please visit www.saverilawfirm.com or call us at (415) 869-6896.
ABOUT MATTHEW BUTTERICK
Matthew Butterick is a lawyer, programmer, designer, and writer. He has been professionally involved with open-source software since 1998. His books Typography for Lawyers ( typographyforlawyers.com ) and Practical Typography ( practicaltypography.com ) are relied on daily by lawyers and writers worldwide. For more information, please visit matthewbutterick.com.
This lawsuit constitutes a critical chapter in an industry-wide debate regarding the ethics of training AI tools with data sourced without permission from its creators and what constitutes a fair use of intellectual property. Despite Microsoft's protestations to the contrary, it does not have the right to treat source code offered under an open-source license as if it were in the public domain. For more information, please see our investigation page.
SOURCE Joseph Saveri Law Firm LLP
