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Elon Musk Hires Top Copyright Lawyer for New Lawsuit Against OpenAI

By  |  August 7, 2024
Elon Musk Hires Top Copyright Lawyer for New Lawsuit Against OpenAI

Elon Musk has engaged a lawyer renowned for handling high-profile entertainment copyright disputes for his latest federal lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. This move follows Musk’s decision to withdraw an earlier version of the case and replace his legal team.

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    The lawsuit, filed on Monday in San Francisco, alleges that OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, violated contract provisions by prioritizing profits over the public good in their pursuit of advancing artificial intelligence. According to Reuters, the new filing builds on the previous case, which Musk withdrew in June, and seeks to nullify OpenAI’s license agreement with Microsoft. Additionally, the revised lawsuit introduces federal fraud and other claims.

    “The prior case was a Goldfish,” said Marc Toberoff, the Malibu-based attorney Musk has chosen for the new lawsuit. “This one’s … a Great White.” Toberoff is known for his involvement in significant copyright battles in the entertainment industry.

    Morgan Chu, from the 75-lawyer firm Irell & Manella, who was responsible for filing the earlier case for Musk, did not respond to a request for comment. Similarly, Musk did not immediately provide a comment. OpenAI also declined to comment on Musk’s latest lawsuit but referenced previously published emails indicating that Musk had supported OpenAI’s plan to establish a for-profit entity. Musk has since launched a competing startup, xAI, which was valued at $24 billion in May.

    Read more: Apple and OpenAI Partnership Could Prompt EU Antitrust Regulation Revisions

    Marc Toberoff’s notable cases include suing Disney’s Marvel on behalf of four artists aiming to reclaim copyright interests in superheroes they co-created, such as Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel. This case was settled last year. In 2022, Toberoff represented the writers of the original “Predator” movie’s screenplay in a lawsuit against Disney’s 20th Century Studios, which also settled.

    Currently, Toberoff is involved in a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, alleging that its 2022 blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” excessively borrowed from a magazine article that inspired the original “Top Gun” film.

    Musk and his various companies, including Tesla and the social media platform X, have collaborated with numerous law firms over the years, such as Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, as per Reuters.

    Source: Reuters