Daniel José Older and 56 co-plaintiffs sue Meta over Llama and Muse training copies

What was filed

Older v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-12115 (N.D. Cal.), was filed October 19, 2026 (52 pages). The 57 plaintiffs, beginning with Daniel José Older, William C Agosta, Billy Arcement, and Liberty Barnes, are listed in the caption and paragraph 1. The only defendant is Meta Platforms, Inc. The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and say they elect not to sue as a class because the Copyright Act lets each of them seek individualized statutory damages set by a jury. (Compl. caption; paras. 1, 14 to 16.)

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges Meta used the plaintiffs' works to build its Llama and Muse families of large language models. It alleges Meta downloaded pirated copies from shadow libraries, often by torrenting, and that the torrenting protocols also reuploaded copyrighted material to peer-to-peer networks. It alleges that beginning in or around mid-2025 Meta bought physical books in bulk, scanned them, ran the images through optical character recognition, and used the text to train Muse models, including Muse Spark and Muse Glimmer, in an operation it refers to as Project Vellum, and it alleges, on information and belief, that Meta acquired, scanned, and used the plaintiffs' works that way. It also alleges Meta stripped copyright management information from the works. (Compl. paras. 2, 6 to 10, 151.)

Counts and relief

Count I alleges direct infringement under 17 U.S.C. 501 based on pirated copies from shadow libraries used for Llama. Count II alleges direct infringement under section 501 based on Project Vellum. Count III alleges contributory infringement under section 501 based on uploading through torrenting. Count IV alleges removal of copyright management information under 17 U.S.C. 1202(b)(1). The prayer seeks declarations of infringement, willfulness, and a section 1202(b) violation; a permanent injunction; an accounting; statutory damages under the Copyright Act and statutory or actual damages under 17 U.S.C. 1203(c); restitution, disgorgement, costs, and fees; and interest. (Compl. Counts I to IV; Prayer.)

On the docket

On October 26, 2026, Magistrate Judge Ajay Krishnan referred the case to Judge Vince Chhabria to consider whether it is related to Kadrey et al. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-03417-VC. The docket then shows an order relating the case on October 28, 2026 (ECF No. 7) and a case reassignment entry on October 29, 2026. (ECF No. 5; docket.)