News Beaulier DMCA 3D Model AI Cases 2026

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Beaulier v. NVIDIA, Meta, Microsoft, and Roblox are four coordinated class action lawsuits filed by 3D model artist Austin Beaulier alleging that the defendants violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by removing copyright management information (CMI) from millions of 3D models shared online under Creative Commons licenses, and using them to train and power generative AI systems. The cases, filed in March 2026 in federal courts in California and Washington, represent a new category of AI copyright litigation targeting 3D model training data rather than text, images, or video.<ref name="mishcon">Mishcon de Reya, "Generative AI – IP Cases and Policy Tracker"</ref><ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld">ChatGPT is Eating the World, Beaulier case coverage</ref>

The Four Cases

The four complaints were filed simultaneously by Austin Beaulier in different federal districts:

  • Beaulier v. NVIDIA Corp. (Case No. 3:26-cv-02647, N.D. Cal. San Francisco Div.) — Alleges NVIDIA used Microsoft's TRELLIS-500k dataset, which contained Beaulier's 3D models with CMI stripped, to train and power its generative AI capabilities. Assigned to Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley.<ref name="mishcon" />
  • Beaulier v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (Case No. 3:26-cv-02632, N.D. Cal. San Francisco Div.) — Alleges Meta removed CMI from 3D models in training its SAM-3D system. Assigned to Judge Edward J. Davila.<ref name="mishcon" /><ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld" />
  • Beaulier v. Microsoft Corp. (Case No. 2:26-cv-01031, W.D. Wash. at Seattle) — Alleges Microsoft's TRELLIS project used 3D models with CMI removed. <ref name="mishcon" />
  • Beaulier v. Roblox Corp. (Case No. 3:26-cv-02642, N.D. Cal. San Francisco Div.) — Alleges Roblox's Cube 3D system exploited 3D models with CMI removed. Assigned to Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley.<ref name="mishcon" /><ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld" />

Legal Theory

All four cases center on Section 1202(b) of the DMCA, which prohibits the removal or alteration of copyright management information (CMI) and the distribution of works knowing that CMI has been removed or altered. Unlike the more common DMCA Section 1201(a)(1) anti-circumvention claims (as seen in cases like Businessing LLC v. Runway AI), the Beaulier cases allege that defendants stripped CMI — such as author attributions and Creative Commons license terms — from 3D models in the Objaverse-XL dataset before using them for AI training.<ref name="mishcon" /><ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld" />

The plaintiff's 3D models were created and shared by artists online under Creative Commons licensing terms, which require attribution. The complaints allege that each defendant engaged in "large-scale commercial exploitation of millions" of digital 3D models by using them in AI training datasets and generative AI systems without preserving the required attribution and license terms.<ref name="mishcon" />

Significance

The Beaulier cases represent several firsts in AI copyright litigation:

  • 3D model AI training: These are among the first AI copyright cases to focus on 3D model training data, expanding the scope of AI training litigation beyond text (books, news articles), 2D images (art, photographs), music, and video.
  • CMI removal theory: Rather than alleging direct copyright infringement or anti-circumvention, the cases use the DMCA Section 1202(b) CMI removal theory, which has not been widely tested in the AI training context.
  • Novel defendants: Roblox, a gaming platform, is a new type of defendant in AI copyright litigation, while NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Meta are targeted for specific 3D AI systems (TRELLIS, SAM-3D, Cube 3D).

The cases also contribute to the growing total of AI copyright lawsuits in the United States, which as of March 2026 numbered 97, with the Beaulier cases filing as suits No. 94 through 97.<ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld" />

See Also

References

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