Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin and a group of writers are seeing early success in their copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, with a U.S. judge allowing multiple legal arguments to move forward.
The authors claim OpenAI illegally used their books to train AI models and that some works were scraped from pirated online libraries. They also argue that ChatGPT produces responses that closely mimic their plots, characters and themes, amounting to unlawful copying. If the case succeeds, damages could reach up to $150K per infringed work.
A judge ruled that readers could «easily conclude» that AI-generated summaries are «substantially similar» to works like A Song of Ice and Fire. The court will next consider summary judgment to determine which claims proceed to trial.
While the legal battle continues, fans will soon return to Westeros. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on Martin’s «Dunk and Egg» stories, debuts on HBO on January 18, 2026.
