The dispute underscores a broader legal gray area around AI and copyright.
In the U.S., the law hasn’t been updated since 1976, leaving courts to interpret how machine learning interacts with copyright rules.

Recently, U.S. Judge William Alsup ruled that Anthropic did not break copyright law by training on protected books — though the company was fined for pirating training data. Japan’s CODA, however, argues that its copyright standards are stricter, meaning AI training without permission could be illegal.

With OpenAI known for its “ask forgiveness, not permission” approach, institutions like Nintendo and the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have also voiced concerns over AI-generated depictions of protected characters and likenesses.