- On Nov. 24, 2025, Magistrate Judge Ona Wang broadly ruled that OpenAI “waived [its attorney-client] privilege over all communications in 2022 related to the reasons for the deletion of (1) the Books1 and Books2 datasets and (2) all internal references to LibGen.”
- On Dec. 8, 2025, OpenAI enlisted Lisa Blatt, the prominent Supreme Court litigator, to file an appeal to Judge Stein of the magistrate judge’s controversial waiver ruling.
- On Jan. 6, 2026, Judge Stein granted OpenAI’s request for oral argument.
- Oral argument is tomorrow, Friday, Jan.16, 2026 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 23A, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 before Judge Sidney H. Stein.
The oral argument in In re OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation tomorrow, Friday, Jan.16, 2026 at 02:00 PM in Courtroom 23A, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 before Judge Sidney H. Stein, is the most important one OpenAI has faced in all the copyright lawsuits against it.
At issue is OpenAI’s appeal of Magistrate Judge Ona Wang broad and controversial ruling that OpenAI “waived [its attorney-client] privilege over all communications in 2022 related to the reasons for the deletion of (1) the Books1 and Books2 datasets and (2) all internal references to LibGen.”
It is no exaggeration to say that this is the most important hearing OpenAI has faced in all of the copyright lawsuits filed against it.
If Judge Stein upholds the broad waiver of attorney-client privilege found by Magistrate Judge Wang, it would be near disastrous for OpenAI’s defense.
In the interest of full disclosure, I think the Magistrate Judge’s ruling was legal error–requiring reversal. See Related Stories below for my full analysis.
But the way things have been going for OpenAI in this MDL litigation, OpenAI can’t be too optimistic about its chances of reversal. OpenAI has not won any major discovery dispute, plus it has also largely lost on its motions to dismiss. In other words, OpenAI has suffered loss after loss in the MDL litigation.
And if that string of losses continues with a broad waiver of OpenAI’s attorney-client privilege, it may serve as a canary in the coal mine of both summary judgment and trial for OpenAI. The stakes for OpenAI are incredibly high on Friday.
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