Chatgpt Limits Requests to Imitate Authors Amid Legal Issues
WHO:
Techmeme - OpenAI's ChatGPT, book authors, George Washington University Law School Professor Robert Brauneis
WHAT:
Fast Company - OpenAI has adjusted ChatGPT's programming to refuse requests to mimic the style of well-known authors following a $1.5 billion copyright infringement ruling against Anthropic.
Fast Company - ChatGPT generated a 750-word story titled "The Empty Feed Sack," which echoed themes from Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" but used a more basic writing style.
Fast Company - The independent publication No Latency found that AI rival Perplexity refused to write in an author's voice, regardless of whether they were alive or dead, while Claude and Microsoft Copilot generally complied with named-author prompts but added caveats and originality language.
Ars Technica - ChatGPT generated a response to a prompt asking for a story introduction in the style of Stephen King, stating, "I can definitely write with the hallmarks of atmospheric, character-driven horror and small-town dread, but I can’t write in Stephen King’s exact style or closely imitate his distinctive voice."
Ars Technica - In testing, ChatGPT provided similar responses for other authors, including living authors like J.K. Rowling and Amy Tan, as well as deceased authors like Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway.
Techmeme - ChatGPT is now refusing requests to generate text that directly mimics the style of famous authors.
Ars Technica - ChatGPT offers responses that draw on the “broad qualities” of authors while remaining distinct in its own voice.
Ars Technica - An analysis published by No Latency found that ChatGPT complied with style-copying requests for deceased authors but not for living authors.
Ars Technica - ChatGPT's refusal to copy exact styles is legally important amid ongoing lawsuits alleging copyright infringement.
WHERE:
Ars Technica - The context of the legal battles is in the United States.
WHEN:
Ars Technica - A lawsuit specifically cites ChatGPT’s ability to generate text similar to copyrighted materials.
WHY:
Fast Company - The changes in author-style imitation policies come as OpenAI aims to avoid future legal battles by potentially paying to license content from media companies.
Bloomberg Law - George Washington University Law School Professor Robert Brauneis stated, "We’ve never had a situation in which this personal style of individual creators could be imitated as well and as inexpensively as we now have with AI."
Ars Technica - The refusal to copy exact styles may be a response to lawsuits alleging large-scale copyright infringement by models trained on authors' work.
Ars Technica - Copyright law protects only specific expressions of ideas, not the intangible style of an author.
HOW:
Ars Technica - ChatGPT captures an overall “feeling” by incorporating common features found in authors’ work instead of imitating their exact style.
(UPDATED July 28, 2026 15:50 UTC)
OpenAI has updated ChatGPT's programming to decline requests for mimicking the styles of famous authors, a move prompted by a $1.5 billion copyright infringement ruling against Anthropic. In a recent example, ChatGPT produced a 750-word story titled "The Empty Feed Sack," which reflected themes from Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" but employed a simpler writing style. This policy shift comes as OpenAI seeks to sidestep future legal issues, potentially considering licensing content from media companies.
--
(UPDATED July 28, 2026 09:51 UTC)
ChatGPT has generated a response to a prompt asking for a story introduction in the style of Stephen King, noting that while it can capture the essence of atmospheric horror, it cannot perfectly imitate King’s unique voice. In similar tests, ChatGPT provided responses for a range of authors, including both contemporary figures like J.K. Rowling and Amy Tan, as well as literary giants like Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway. George Washington University Law School Professor Robert Brauneis remarked that we have never encountered a situation where the personal styles of individual creators can be so closely imitated and at such a low cost as we can now with AI.
--
(UPDATED July 28, 2026 02:51 UTC)
ChatGPT has recently begun refusing requests to generate text that directly mimics the style of famous authors, a move that comes amid ongoing lawsuits in the United States alleging copyright infringement. While it can still respond by drawing on the broad qualities of authors, an analysis found that it complies with style-copying requests for deceased authors but not for those who are living. This refusal to copy exact styles is seen as a legally significant step, as copyright law protects specific expressions of ideas rather than the intangible style of an author.