Copyright Winter is Coming (to Wikipedia?)

This is a guest post by Matthew Sag, Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science at Emory University Law School. It was originally posted here, addressing Judge Stein’s Order Denying OpenAI’s Motion to Dismiss in Authors Guild v. OpenAI, Inc., No. 25-md-3143 (SHS) (OTW) (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 27, 2025)

A new ruling in Authors Guild v. OpenAI has major implications for copyright law, well beyond artificial intelligence. On October 27, 2025, Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York denied OpenAI’s motion to dismiss claims that ChatGPT outputs infringed the rights of authors such as George R.R. Martin and David Baldacci. The opinion suggests that short summaries of popular works of fiction are very likely infringing (unless fair use comes to the rescue).

This is a fundamental assault on the idea-expression distinction as applied to works of fiction. It places thousands of Wikipedia entries in the copyright crosshairs and suggests that any kind of summary or analysis of a work of fiction is presumptively infringing.

Copyright and derivative works

In Penguin Random House LLC v. Colting, the Southern District of New York found that defendant’s “The Kinderguide” series, which condensed classic works of literature into children’s books, infringed the copyrights in the original works despite being marketed as educational tools for parents to introduce literature to young children.

Every year, I ask students in my copyright class why the children’s versions of classic novels in Colting were found to be infringing but a Wikipedia summary of the plots of those same books probably wouldn’t be. A recent ruling in the consolidated copyright cases against OpenAI means I might have to reconsider.

The ruling

On October 27, 2025, Judge Stein of the Southern District of New York denied OpenAI’s motion to dismiss the output-based copyright infringement claims brought by a class of authors including David Baldacci, George R.R. Martin, and others.

OpenAI had argued, reasonably enough, that the authors’ complaint failed to plausibly allege substantial similarity between any of their works and any of ChatGPT’s outputs. It is standard practice in copyright litigation to attach a copy of the plaintiff’s work and the allegedly infringing work, but the court held that “the outputs plaintiffs submitted along with their opposition to OpenAI’s motion were incorporated into the Consolidated Class Action Complaint by reference” and that it was enough that their Complaint repeatedly made “clear, definite and substantial references” to the outputs. Losing that civil procedure skirmish was probably a bad sign for OpenAI—a bit like the menacing prologue in A Game of Thrones, you sense that Copyright Winter is Coming .  

Judge Stein then went on to evaluate one of the more detailed chat-GPT generated summaries relating to A Game of Thrones, the 694 page novel by George R. R. Martin which eventually became the famous HBO series of the same name. Even though this was only a motion to dismiss, where the cards are stacked against the defendant, I was surprised by how easily the judge could conclude that:

“A more discerning observer could easily conclude that this detailed summary is substantially similar to Martin’s original work, including because the summary conveys the overall tone and feel of the original work by parroting the plot, characters, and themes of the original.”

The judge described the ChatGPT summaries as:

“most certainly attempts at abridgment or condensation of some of the central copyrightable elements of the original works such as setting, plot, and characters”

He saw them as:

“conceptually similar to—although admittedly less detailed than—the plot summaries in Twin Peaks and in Penguin Random House LLC v. Colting, where the district court found that works that summarized in detail the plot, characters, and themes of original works were substantially similar to the original works.” (emphasis added).

To say that the less than 580-word GPT summary of A Game of Thrones is “less detailed” than the 128-page Welcome to Twin Peaks Guide in the Twin Peaks case, or the various children’s books based on famous works of literature in the Colting case, is a bit of an understatement.

The Wikipedia comparison

To see why the latest OpenAI ruling is so surprising, it helps to compare the ChatGPT summary of A Game of Thrones to the equivalent Wikipedia plot summary. I read them both so you don’t have to.

The ChatGPT summary of a Game of Thrones is about 580 words long and captures the essential narrative arc of the novel. It covers all three major storylines: the political intrigue in King’s Landing culminating in Ned Stark’s execution (spoiler alert), Jon Snow’s journey with the Night’s Watch at the Wall, and Daenerys Targaryen’s transformation from fearful bride (more on this shortly) to dragon mother across the Narrow Sea. In this regard, it is very much like the 800 word Wikipedia plot summary. Each summary presents the central conflict between the Starks and Lannisters, the revelation of Cersei and Jaime’s incestuous relationship, and the key plot points that set the larger series in motion.

I could say more about their similarities, but I’m concerned that if I explored the summaries in any greater detail, the Authors Guild might think that I am also infringing George R. R. Martin’s copyright, so I’ll move on to the minor differences.

The key difference between the Wikipedia summary and the GPT summary is structural. The Wikipedia summary takes a geographic approach, dividing the narrative into three distinct sections based on location: “In the Seven Kingdoms,” “On the Wall,” and “Across the Narrow Sea.” This structure mirrors the way the novel follows different characters in different locations, to the point where you begin to wonder whether these characters will ever meet. In contrast, the GPT summary follows a more analytical structure, beginning with contextual information about the setting and the series as a whole, then proceeding through sections that follow a roughly chronological progression through the major plot points.

There are some minor differences. The Wikipedia summary provides more granular plot details and clearer causal chains between events. It explains, for instance, how Catelyn’s arrest of Tyrion leads to Tywin’s retaliatory raids on the Riverlands, which in turn necessitates Robb’s strategic alliance with House Frey to secure a crucial bridge crossing. The Wikipedia summary also includes more secondary characters and subplots, such as Tyrion’s recruitment of Bronn as his champion in trial by combat, and Jon’s protection of Samwell Tarly.

The Wikipedia summary probably assumes a greater familiarity with the fantasy genre, whereas the GPT summary might be more helpful to the uninitiated. The GPT summary explains the significance of the long summer and impending winter and explicitly sets out the novel’s major themes.

In broad strokes, however, there is very little daylight between these two summaries. They are remarkably similar in what they include and in what they leave out. Most notably, both summaries sanitize Daenerys’s storyline by omitting the sexual violence that is fundamental to her character arc. This is particularly striking because sexual violence is central to Martin’s narrative in so many places and to the narrative arc of several of the main characters.

If GPT is substantially similar, so is Wikipedia

I don’t see how the ChatGPT summary could infringe the copyright in George R. R. Martin’s novel, if the Wikipedia summary doesn’t. A chilling prospect indeed, but I don’t think that either one is infringing.

It’s absolutely true that you can infringe the copyright in a novel by merely borrowing some of the key characters, plot points and settings, and spinning out a sequel or a prequel. In copyright, we call this a derivative work. But just because sequels and children’s versions of novels are often infringing, doesn’t mean that a dry and concise analytical summary of a novel is infringing.

Why not? It’s actually the act of taking those key structural elements, the skeleton of the novel if you like, and adding new flesh to them to create a new fully realized work that makes an unauthorized sequel infringing.

What’s at stake

Judge Stein’s order doesn’t resolve the authors’ claims, not by a long shot. And he was careful to point out that he was only considering the plausibility of the infringement allegation and not any potential fair use defenses. Nonetheless, I think this is a troubling decision that sets the bar on substantial similarity far too low.

The fact that “[w]hen prompted, ChatGPT can generate accurate summaries of books authored by plaintiffs and generate outlines for potential sequels to plaintiffs’ books” falls well short of demonstrating that such outputs by themselves would be regarded by the ordinary observer as substantially similar to a fully realized novel.