I told y’all this was coming.
Just yesterday, I mentioned how Anthropic became the first to successfully argue “fair use” in court for training its AI on copyrighted books—and how that could tip the scales in Big Tech’s favor.
Well, guess what?
Boom. Meta just won its case too. Less than 24 hours later, another domino falls.
Here’s what went down:
Thirteen authors, including comedian and writer Sarah Silverman sued Meta for allegedly using their copyrighted books to train its AI models without permission.
But surprise twist: Judge Vince Chhabria sided with Meta, ruling that their use of the books qualifies as fair use — meaning it’s legally chill (at least in this particular case).
And the kicker? He didn’t even need a jury. This was a summary judgment, like the case was so lopsided in Meta’s favor that the judge shut it down early.
Here’s why Meta won:
Meta’s use was considered “transformative.” The AI didn’t just regurgitate the authors’ work — it used it in a new, functional way.
The authors couldn’t prove any real damage. No lost sales. No market harm. Nothing. As the judge put it, “The plaintiffs presented no meaningful evidence on market dilution at all.”
Still, authors take a deep breath—this isn’t an open season on copyrighted content.
In fact, the judge made it very clear: this ruling only went Meta’s way because the authors made weak arguments. A better case, with stronger receipts? That could change the outcome entirely.
Still, with both Anthropic and Meta walking away clean, the tech world is feeling pretty bold right now.
So bold that Altman’s already out here swinging at The New York Times over their lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. (Seriously, go check that out — it’s kinda hilarious.)
And it's not just the Times. Disney and Universal are also going after Midjourney for allegedly training AI on films and TV shows.
So yeah, the lawsuits are still coming fast and furious.
But if you’re keeping score, that’s two big wins in a row for Big Tech.
And like I said yesterday: This is the start of a legal shift, and the courts are giving Big Tech the edge.
You can catch the full details here!
