WME Backs Licensed AI in OpenAI-NYT Copyright Fight

WME isn't anti-AI. It's anti-freebie. The Beverly Hills agency filed an amicus brief on October 30 in the sprawling copyright infringement showdown between OpenAI and the New York Times, telling the court that AI companies should license creative material rather than lift it. In WME's words, the fix isn't banning AI — it's making it pay.

The filing, an 18-page brief written by WME Group legal chief Courtney Braun and outside firm Jayaram PLLC, argues that any AI use touching creators' rights needs proper compensation and authorization. WME also says creators should get to decide whether — and on what terms — their protected work trains AI systems. It's the first big Hollywood talent agency to weigh in on this particular fight.

The case itself is approaching three years old. The Times and co-plaintiffs, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, a group of Florida and Arkansas papers, and The Intercept, accuse Sam Altman's company of free-riding on the Times' journalism to build competing products without permission or payment. The docket has drawn star power: George R.R. Martin, John Grisham, Sarah Silverman, Michael Connelly, Jonathan Franzen and Jodi Picoult have all appeared in related actions.

WME's brief lands right after a joint filing from SAG-AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians, and the Writers Guild of America East and West, which slammed OpenAI on October 29 for what they called appropriating the work of middle- and working-class people. Meanwhile, Trump's Justice Department sided with Altman back in September, telling the court that training large language models on copyrighted texts shouldn't be ruled a violation. Notably, WME represented Trump during his Apprentice years — and now it disagrees.

To make its case, WME points to a market that's already moving. The brief cites more than two dozen licensing deals or partnerships announced between mid-2023 and mid-2024, at least 28 of them involving payment for training data. Among them: News Corp's reported five-year, $250 million agreement with OpenAI, Reddit's $60 million deal with Google, and Shutterstock's reported $25 million to $50 million deals with Apple, Amazon and Google. The brief also notes AI developers keep shopping for film and TV libraries. WME's message to Altman: don't be a putz — make a deal.