Home / Technology / 3D Artist Accuses Meta, Nvidia, Roblox of Misusing Work
3D Artist Accuses Meta, Nvidia, Roblox of Misusing Work
27 Mar
Summary
- A digital artist filed lawsuits against Meta, Nvidia, and Roblox.
- The artist alleges companies used millions of 3D models to train AI.
- Lawsuits claim AI training violated Creative Commons licenses.
A digital artist has initiated legal action against major tech companies Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Roblox. The artist, Austin Beaulier, filed proposed class action lawsuits in a California federal court on March 26, 2026. Beaulier claims these companies unlawfully utilized millions of 3D models to train their generative artificial intelligence systems.
Beaulier asserts that his and other artists' work, distributed through public repositories under Creative Commons licenses, was downloaded and employed for AI training. These licenses typically restrict commercial use of the covered works. The lawsuits specifically name Meta's SAM-3D, Nvidia's TRELLIS-500K, and Roblox's Cube3D AI systems as having been trained on millions of models without artist permission.
These complaints are part of a broader trend of artists and content creators suing technology firms over the alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted material for AI development. While AI companies often argue fair use, claiming their systems transform the material into something new, this case highlights artists' concerns about commercial exploitation and licensing violations. Beaulier is seeking to represent nationwide classes of 3D artists and is requesting unspecified monetary damages.
