What happened
Adobe is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit, initiated by author Elizabeth Lyon, alleging the unauthorised use of copyrighted literary works to train its SlimLM AI model. The suit claims Adobe's SlimPajama-627B dataset, integral to SlimLM, derives from RedPajama, which reportedly includes the 'Books3' database containing pirated books. This action introduces a legal challenge to the established practices of AI model training data acquisition and usage, specifically concerning intellectual property rights.
Why it matters
This legal action introduces a new operational constraint on the provenance and licensing of training data for AI models. It increases the due diligence requirements for procurement and legal teams responsible for acquiring and validating datasets, particularly those derived from aggregated sources. The burden falls on compliance and platform operators to ensure that AI model development adheres to evolving copyright interpretations, increasing exposure to potential litigation and reputational risk if data lineage is not rigorously verified.
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