by Winston Cho at The Hollywood Reporter
The issue has been a major battleground in discovery. OpenAI could be on the hook for hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars if it was aware it was infringing on copyrighted material.
OpenAI has lost a key discovery battle over internal communications related to the startup deleting two huge datasets of pirated books, a development that further tilts the scales in favor of authors suing the company.
To rewind, authors and publishers have gained access to Slack messages between OpenAI’s employees discussing the erasure of the datasets, named “books 1 and books 2.” But the court held off on whether plaintiffs should get other communications that the company argued were protected by attorney-client privilege.
In a controversial decision that was appealed by OpenAI on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Ona Wang found that OpenAI must hand over documents revealing the company’s motivations for deleting the datasets. OpenAI’s in-house legal team will be deposed.
At stake: Billions of dollars and, potentially, OpenAI’s defense in the case. The communications could help prove what’s known as “willful” infringement, which triggers significantly higher damages of $150,000 per work. And if it’s found that the company destroyed the evidence with potential litigation in mind, the court could direct juries in later trials to assume it would’ve been unfavorable for OpenAI.
The discovery ruling bolsters what’s increasingly looking like a…
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