Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is trying to duck a deposition in an OpenAI copyright lawsuit – TechCrunch
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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is trying to avoid being deposed in a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, according to new court filings. In response, lawyers for the plaintiff — the Authors Guild — have filed a motion to compel testimony from Amodei and his Anthropic co-founder, Benjamin Mann.
Authors Guild’s lawyers claim that Amodei and Mann, who both used to work at OpenAI, possess “unique, firsthand knowledge of information highly relevant to this case.”
The Authors Guild — which is representing writers like John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Sylvia Day in the suit — sent subpoenas to Amodei and Mann in 2024 seeking testimony as well as communications from their time at OpenAI. The lawsuit was filed in September 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Lawyers for the Authors Guild, Amodei, and Mann did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Anthropic also did not respond.
The motion and the subpoenas, which have not been previously reported, show that some of the many copyright lawsuits that allege OpenAI trained ChatGPT on stolen material are heating up. Discovery in the Authors Guild case, which was filed in 2023, is supposed to wrap up in April. Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise around $40 billion.
Amodei and Mann originally agreed in June 2024 to sit for seven-hour depositions after receiving the subpoenas, according to the motion. They have also prepared a cache of text, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger messages as part of the discovery process.
But lawyers representing the Anthropic co-founders delayed the testimony near the end of 2024 in hopes of coordinating the depositions with testimony slated for another lawsuit against OpenAI. (That lawsuit is a combined case involving three separate actions brought by comedian Sarah Silverman, author Michael Chabon, and author Paul Tremblay.)
Now it seems lawyers for Amodei and Mann are trying to get out of the depositions altogether.
On January 16, 2025, lawyers for Amodei and Mann told the Authors Guild that Amodei “is not available for deposition,” according to an email attached to the motion.
Lawyers for Amodei — who two months ago sat for a five-hour interview with podcaster Lex Fridman — argued the CEO’s schedule was too demanding, something that’s referred to as the “apex doctrine.”
Mann has also tried to avoid giving testimony in the Authors Guild case unless it can be coordinated with a deposition in the consolidated lawsuit and limited to four hours. His lawyers cite that he has two young children and a family member “who received a serious medical diagnosis.” His legal team also told the Authors Guild on January 16 that Mann would only sit for a deposition if the guild agreed not to depose Amodei, the emails show.
Mann has since filed a motion to quash the subpoena and deposition in the consolidated OpenAI case.
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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is trying to avoid being deposed in a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, according to new court filings. In response, lawyers for the plaintiff — the Authors Guild — have filed a motion to compel testimony from Amodei and his Anthropic co-founder, Benjamin Mann.
Authors Guild’s lawyers claim that Amodei and Mann, who both used to work at OpenAI, possess “unique, firsthand knowledge of information highly relevant to this case.”
The Authors Guild — which is representing writers like John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Sylvia Day in the suit — sent subpoenas to Amodei and Mann in 2024 seeking testimony as well as communications from their time at OpenAI. The lawsuit was filed in September 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Lawyers for the Authors Guild, Amodei, and Mann did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Anthropic also did not respond.
The motion and the subpoenas, which have not been previously reported, show that some of the many copyright lawsuits that allege OpenAI trained ChatGPT on stolen material are heating up. Discovery in the Authors Guild case, which was filed in 2023, is supposed to wrap up in April. Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise around $40 billion.
Amodei and Mann originally agreed in June 2024 to sit for seven-hour depositions after receiving the subpoenas, according to the motion. They have also prepared a cache of text, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger messages as part of the discovery process.
But lawyers representing the Anthropic co-founders delayed the testimony near the end of 2024 in hopes of coordinating the depositions with testimony slated for another lawsuit against OpenAI. (That lawsuit is a combined case involving three separate actions brought by comedian Sarah Silverman, author Michael Chabon, and author Paul Tremblay.)
Now it seems lawyers for Amodei and Mann are trying to get out of the depositions altogether.
On January 16, 2025, lawyers for Amodei and Mann told the Authors Guild that Amodei “is not available for deposition,” according to an email attached to the motion.
Lawyers for Amodei — who two months ago sat for a five-hour interview with podcaster Lex Fridman — argued the CEO’s schedule was too demanding, something that’s referred to as the “apex doctrine.”
Mann has also tried to avoid giving testimony in the Authors Guild case unless it can be coordinated with a deposition in the consolidated lawsuit and limited to four hours. His lawyers cite that he has two young children and a family member “who received a serious medical diagnosis.” His legal team also told the Authors Guild on January 16 that Mann would only sit for a deposition if the guild agreed not to depose Amodei, the emails show.
Mann has since filed a motion to quash the subpoena and deposition in the consolidated OpenAI case.
Topics
Elon Musk is reportedly taking control of the inner workings of US government agencies
Sam Altman: OpenAI has been on the ‘wrong side of history’ concerning open source
Sam Altman’s ousting from OpenAI has entered the cultural zeitgeist
Google quietly announces its next flagship AI model
Google issues ‘voluntary exit’ program for Android, Chrome, and Pixel employees
Mark Zuckerberg teases a 2025 return to ‘OG Facebook’
Ai2 says its new AI model beats one of DeepSeek’s best
Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news
Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage.
TechCrunch's AI experts cover the latest news in the fast-moving field.
Every Monday, gets you up to speed on the latest advances in aerospace.
Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice.
© 2024 Yahoo.
source
This article was autogenerated from a news feed from CDO TIMES selected high quality news and research sources. There was no editorial review conducted beyond that by CDO TIMES staff. Need help with any of the topics in our articles? Schedule your free CDO TIMES Tech Navigator call today to stay ahead of the curve and gain insider advantages to propel your business!
