Kadrey v. Meta

Kadrey v. Meta Platforms — Author Copyright Class Action against Llama (N.D. Cal.)
N.D. Cal. · Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417 (N.D. Cal.)

Status
Blocked / in litigation
Took effect
July 7, 2023
Applies to
Meta Platforms, Inc.

Authors Richard Kadrey, Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden — later joined by Junot Díaz, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Andrew Sean Greer and others — sued Meta in July 2023 over the use of pirated books (LibGen / Books3) to train Llama. In June 2025 Judge Chhabria granted Meta partial summary judgment on fair use for these specific plaintiffs, but the ruling was narrow and the case continues on remaining theories.

Who is protected: Class of U.S. book authors whose works appear in LibGen / Books3 training corpora

Legal detail

Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417 (N.D. Cal., filed July 7, 2023; Judge Vince Chhabria). Claims: direct copyright infringement, DMCA § 1202, unfair competition. Nov. 20, 2023: most non-direct-infringement claims dismissed. June 25, 2025: court granted summary judgment to Meta on fair use as applied to these plaintiffs' Llama-training claim, while emphasizing the result was driven by plaintiffs' failure of proof on market harm and was not a categorical endorsement of training-on-pirated-books as fair use. Other plaintiffs in the consolidated proceedings continue to litigate.

Key facts

JurisdictionN.D. Cal.
LevelFederal
CitationKadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417 (N.D. Cal.)
Topicscopyright and training data
Court recordKadrey v. Meta — CourtListener 3:23-cv-03417

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