Publishing group sues OpenAI
The publisher behind the children's book series 'The Little Dragon Coconut' has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement of Ingo Siegner's works.
The publishing group Penguin Random House, responsible for the 'The Little Dragon Coconut' children's book series, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI at the Munich Regional Court. The claim asserts that the ChatGPT developer has infringed upon the copyrights of works by author and illustrator Ingo Siegner.
According to the publisher, ChatGPT reproduces content from protected works in a recognizable form. The chatbot generates outputs, including text and illustrations similar to the original character, in response to simple prompts. Furthermore, the system independently suggests manuscript creation, encompassing cover art and self-publishing advice.
The publishing group interprets these actions as evidence that Siegner's works were unlawfully used to train the AI system, and that they exist within the model as "memorization." The lawsuit was filed on March 27, 2026, after OpenAI failed to respond to a cease and desist request and a demand for information.
Support for the legal action comes from the German Book Trade Association (Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels), which calls for legal clarification on copyright issues in the age of AI. This case is part of a broader trend of lawsuits filed by publishers, studios, and authors against AI companies.