Authors File Class Action Lawsuit Against Salesforce Over AI Training
- tech360.tv
- Oct 17, 2025
- 2 min read
Cloud-computing firm Salesforce faces a proposed class action lawsuit initiated by two authors. They allege the company used thousands of books without permission to train its artificial intelligence software.
Novelists Molly Tanzer and Jennifer Gilmore stated in the complaint that Salesforce infringed copyrights. They claim their work was used to train the company’s xGen AI models to process language.
The complaint was filed on Wednesday. Attorney Joseph Saveri, who represents the authors, said on Thursday that it is important for companies using copyrighted material for AI products to be transparent. He added it is fair that clients are compensated when this occurs.
Authors, news outlets, and other content owners have lodged dozens of lawsuits against technology companies. These include OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms, for allegedly misusing their material in AI training.
In a related development, Anthropic agreed to a landmark USD 1.5 billion settlement with a separate group of authors. This settlement, reached in Aug., also addressed claims of copyright infringement.
Tanzer and Gilmore’s lawsuit claims Salesforce utilised thousands of pirated books, written by them and others, to train xGen. CEO Marc Benioff of Salesforce has previously criticised AI companies for using "stolen" training data.
Benioff had also stated that paying content creators for their work would be "very easy to do." The complaint asserts, "Benioff is right — technology companies like Benioff’s own Salesforce that use the intellectual property of copyright holders like Plaintiffs and Class members should fairly compensate them."
Salesforce faces a proposed class action lawsuit from authors Molly Tanzer and Jennifer Gilmore.
The authors allege Salesforce used thousands of copyrighted books without permission to train its xGen AI models.
Attorney Joseph Saveri highlighted the need for transparency and fair compensation for copyright holders in AI training.
Source: REUTERS
