OpenAI's ChatGPT Limits Exact Author Style Requests as Copyright Scrutiny Grows

OpenAI has updated ChatGPT so that it no longer fulfills requests to generate text that directly mimics the style of living authors such as Stephen King, J. K. Rowling or Amy Tan. When prompted for an exact imitation, the model offers an original piece that captures the "broad qualities" of the author while remaining distinct. The change comes as OpenAI faces multiple lawsuits alleging large‑scale copyright infringement by its models.

Separately, publishers report that fraudulent Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices are being used to de‑index high‑ranking webpages from Google search results. Bad actors, often competitors, file false copyright claims for as little as ten dollars, exploiting a system that acts quickly without verifying the claimant’s identity. Victims can spend weeks or months trying to restore their pages, while the takedowns create a ranking gap that benefits the fraudsters.