A former classmate identified as Jane Doe has sued Amy Griffin, author of the NYT-bestselling memoir The Tell, in a California state court for invasion of privacy. The suit claims negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and more, stating Griffin used details of the plaintiff’s own sexual assaults in the book. It also names the book’s ghostwriter, Sam Lansky, as well as the book’s publisher and imprint, Penguin Random House and Dial Press. The Tell, which was published in 2025 and was an Oprah’s Book Club pick, details Griffin’s experience allegedly recovering memories during MDMA therapy. Griffin claims in the book […]
Legal
SCOTUS Refuses Challenge to Human Authored Copyright Rule
On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case that challenged whether AI-created art could be copyrighted. Computer scientist Stephen Thaler sought to copyright a piece of art he created in 2018 with an AI program that he built. The Copyright Office declined his request for copyright in 2022, noting that AI-created work is not protected. Thaler brought the case to court. Now, the lower court’s decision stands, holding that copyright only applies to human-created art.
New Lawsuit Over AI Training Targets Adobe
Adobe has been sued in a proposed class action suit over using books to train its AI software. The lead plaintiff in the case is Art Kleiner, author of the 1996 book The Age of Heretics: Heroes, Outlaws, and the Forerunners of Corporate Change, which was included in the Books3 dataset. Books3 is part of the SlimPajama dataset, which Adobe used to train its “SlimLM small language models,” which provides “document assistance tasks on mobile devices,” according to the complaint. “This runs contrary to Adobe’s outspoken stance on ethical AI development and use” for its AI image generator, Firefly, the […]
US Not Appropriate Venue for Either Case Against Gaiman, Palmer, Court Finds
On Friday, a US District Court judge in Massachusetts dismissed another case related to allegations of sexual assault by Neil Gaiman, on the basis of jurisdiction. The case was brought by Scarlett Pavlovich against Gaiman’s ex-wife, Amanda Palmer. Pavlovich claims Palmer engaged in human trafficking and conspiracy when Pavlovich worked as the couple’s nanny in New Zealand, as well as “negligence against Palmer for introducing plaintiff to Gaiman and failing to warn her of the unreasonable danger he posed,” according to a court filing. The court granted Palmer’s motion to dismiss, noting that Massachusetts is not an appropriate venue. “Plaintiff […]
Maya Angelou Estate Joins Utah Book Banning Suit
The estate of Maya Angelou has joined Kurt Vonnegut’s estate in its case against Utah’s Sensitive Materials Law. The ACLU first filed the suit on behalf of the Vonnegut’s estate in January. The amended complaint is a response to the banning of Angelou’s book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by two school districts in Utah, with authorities currently considering a statewide ban of the book. Utah’s Sensitive Materials Law, passed in 2022 and amended in 2024, requires public schools and their libraries to remove certain “inappropriate” books or books with any reference to sex. Stephanie Floyd-Johnson, Angelou’s daughter-in-law […]
Neil Gaiman Denies Allegations Again, Has Written New Book
More than a year and a half after sexual assault allegations against Neil Gaiman first surfaced, the author has once again taken to his blog to deny the claims — and share that he has written a new book. “I thought it was going to be a fairly short project when I began it, but it’s looking like it’s going to be the biggest thing I’ve done since American Gods. It’s already much longer than The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and it’s barely finished wiping its boots and hanging up its coat.” (You may recall that we reported last December […]