Science & Tech · AI · 4 hrs ago
Hollywood groups urge court to recognize licensing options for AI training
The Human Consent Foundation and entertainment groups filed a court brief in New York in the New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft.
The brief argues that creative works can be licensed for AI training through systems already used by the entertainment industry.
OpenAI and Microsoft have argued that clearing rights for training data is too costly, and that there is no settled way to value it.
The groups say existing licensing processes can handle rights at scale and at reasonable cost.
The foundation, backed by actor Cate Blanchett, also says people should have a meaningful choice about whether AI models use their likenesses.
The brief supports consent and licensing as AI companies use creative material to train their models.
OpenAI points to other briefs supporting its view that the use of copyrighted work is protected by fair use; the court has not yet resolved the dispute.
The Human Consent Foundation and several Hollywood groups filed a brief urging a New York court to recognize that creative works can be licensed for AI training.
The brief argues that the creative industries already have systems to clear rights for dispersed works at scale and at reasonable cost.
The filing was made in the New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft in the Southern District of New York.
OpenAI maintains that its use of copyrighted works is protected by fair use.
- Who
- The Human Consent Foundation and several Hollywood groups filed the brief. OpenAI and Microsoft are defendants in the lawsuit.
- What
- The groups urged the court to recognize licensing options for creative works used to train AI.
- When
- The brief was filed late Friday; the article was published on October 30, 2026.
- Where
- The Southern District of New York.
- Why
- The groups say licensing creative works for AI training is possible and that creators should have meaningful choices over use of their work.
Human Consent Foundation and supporting creative groups
OpenAI
Licensing for AI training
Human Consent Foundation and supporting creative groups
The brief says creative industries have proven systems to clear rights at scale and cost-effectively.
OpenAI
OpenAI’s position, as described by the brief, is that clearing rights is cost-prohibitive and there is no settled way to value training data.
Use of copyrighted works
Human Consent Foundation and supporting creative groups
The groups argue that AI technology should respect permission and licensing choices.
OpenAI
OpenAI says scraping is protected by the fair use doctrine.
The Human Consent Foundation was founded as RSL Media by Nikki Hexum and Cate Blanchett.
The foundation launched a registry where people could log permissions they gave AI models to scrape their likenesses.
The Human Consent Foundation and supporting groups filed their brief in the Southern District of New York.
- Filing
- 31-page amicus brief
- Court
- Southern District of New York
- Case
- The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft
- Supporting organizations
- CAA, Music Artists Coalition, National Association of Voice Actors, Writer, Inc, and Creative Coalition on AI
- Foundation
- Founded as RSL Media in May by Nikki Hexum and Cate Blanchett
What people are saying
Our goal is to ensure that as the market for AI data licensing grows, the humans who create the value in that market are protected and have a meaningful choice
Consent isn’t a barrier to creativity, it is the foundation of it.
The creative industries already have in place a proven infrastructure and workflows to clear rights for dispersed works at scale and cost-effectively.
Experts and leaders across a wide range of fields have recognized that fair use is a win-win that benefits everyone, and have shared their perspectives with the Court in filing briefs in support of fair use