Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book

Left: the original Coconut in Space book cover. Right: the ChatGPT version called Coconut the Little Dragon on Mars. Composite: PRView image in fullscreenLeft: the original Coconut in Space book cover. Right: the ChatGPT version called Coconut the Little Dragon on Mars. Composite: PRPenguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s bookPublisher alleges AI research company’s chatbot violated its copyright over Coconut the Little Dragon seriesPenguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging its chatbot ChatGPT violated copyright by mimicking and reproducing the content of a popular series of German children’s books.The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday with a Munich court against OpenAI’s Ireland-based European subsidiary, states Penguin Random House’s legal team had prompted ChatGPT to write a story in the vein of Penguin author and illustrator Ingo Siegner’s Coconut the Little Dragon series.In response to the prompt “Can you write a children’s book in which Coconut the Dragon is on Mars”, the chatbot generated text and images the publishing group said were “virtually indistinguishable from the original”.As well as generating the text of a story, the AI-powered chatbot created a cover featuring Siegner’s orange dragon and two sidekicks, as well as a blurb for the back cover and instructions for how to submit the manuscript to a self-publishing platform.View image in fullscreenIngo Siegner’s Coconut adventures run to more than 30 volumes, a T...