EXCLUSIVE: It may be time for Sam Altman to ask himself if he really wants Robert Di Niro bellowing “are you AI scraping me?” at him.
While there is no direct Taxi Driver reference in the amicus brief filed by CAA in the nearly two-year old consolidated copyright infringement battle between OpenAI and the New York Times, Ta-Nehisi Coates, a collection of Florida and Arkansas papers, The Intercept and other outlets, Altman may not want to push it.
All jokes and references to the classic flick from 1976, Oscar winner and CAA client De Niro put his signature on the October 20 filed brief from the uberagency and others to assert to Altman and OpenAI “that technical silence is not legal consent.” De Niro is joined by Ariana DeBose, Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, Vince Gilligan, Rosario Dawson, Dan Levy, Anne Hathaway and more in his objection to his work being high-tech feasting fodder.
It’s standoff on what looks be the primary fault line of post-modern media.
“This case is about far more than one newspaper or one technology company,” CAA chief Bryan Lourd told Deadline today. ‘It is about the fundamental relationship between technological progress and creative rights, and who determines the value of creative work, who decides how that work is used, and whether creators will share in the opportunities AI creates.”
Unsurprisingly backed by Donald Trump’s DOJ, OpenAI has been in a copyright clash with the Grey Lady and others over its digital sticky fingers when it comes to training the Elon Musk co-founded tech company’s models. As they did when this all started in 2024 (which has proven to be a millennium in AI terms). OpenAI (who are poised for an IPO any quarter now) claims fair use, and declares they “view this principle as fair to creators, necessary for innovators, and critical for US competitiveness.”
Not so much, says the circumspect Lourd, leaning on the development and Implementation of licensing frameworks for the AI era.
“Those questions are being answered now, and that is why CAA and other members of our community are weighing in,” the CAA CEO and Co-Chairman states. We strongly believe in the promise of AI, but its future must be built with artists, not at their expense, and grounded in consent, control, and compensation.”
In that context, CAA have been quite pro-active, launching their CAA Vault and other AI focused initiatives in the past few years. They also recognize the pace of the tech and its expectations are in a race with institutional reality. “Cultural change happens a long time before political and legal change does,” CAA‘s Chief Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel Tammy Brandt told Deadline’s LA Law Summit back in September.
With SAG-AFTRA, Adobe and ABBA name drops, plus cameos by co-plaintiffs Cate Blancett and Steven Soderbergh, the filing from Bass, Berry & Sims PLC actually accuses OpenAI of being out of times with the tech and the times (pun intended BTW). Refuting Team Altman’s contention that making licencing deal is cost prohibitive at this point in the tech’s evolution, the CAA-led brief asserts “the mechanisms to manage multi-rightsholder transaction costs are not only well-established, but are being actively adapted for the AI era by leaders across both the creative and technology sectors.”
Long lawsuit short: “Licensing at scale is not inherently impossible.”
Taking the strength in numbers approach, the NYC based BB&S are representing not just CAA in this brief but also Human Consent Foundation, Music Artists Coalition, National Association of Voice Actors, Writer, Inc., Creators Coalition on Artificial Intelligence, Blanchett, Soderbergh, and Nick Hexum in this brief
To that, here is the full A-list group, which would be a dream film festival invite list under any other name, going to digital barricade:
Bette Midler, Musician, Actor, Producer and Author
Christian Vesper, Film and Television Executive and Producer
Dame Emma Thompson, Actor and Screenwriter
Dan Levy, Actor, Writer, Producer and Director
Dave Eggers, Writer, Editor and Publisher
Greg Berlanti, Director, Producer and Writer
Madonna, Singer, Songwriter, Producer and Actor
Olivia Wilde, Actor, Director, Writer and Producer
Paul Feig, Director, Producer and Writer
Rian Johnson, Director, Producer and Writer
Richard Louderback, Artist and Illustrator
Stan Lee Foundation, Public Charity Dedicated to Literacy and the Narrative Arts
Vince Gilligan, Writer, Producer and Director
In a case that has been picking up traction in recent weeks, the NYT vs OpenAI conflictsaw fellow mega-agency WME weigh in too last week. In a very similar tone to CAA’s submission, the Ari Emanuel chaired company’s brief said WME “advocates that all uses of AI must be ethical and responsible, and any use of AI that affects talents’ and creators’ rights must come with proper compensation and authorization.”
The ongoing case had previously seen Game of Thrones overlord George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, Sarah Silverman, Bosch creator Michael Connelly, Jonathan Franzen, Jodi Picoult and more offer their take (Hint – not into AI using their work without paying for it. SAG-AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians and the Writers Guild of America East and West filed their own joint brief on October 29 calling out OpenAI for “appropriating the work of middle- and working-class people to develop their technology.”
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