Grammarly Faces Right-of-Publicity Lawsuit Over AI Style Editor

Grammarly, the developer behind the text-checking tool, has been named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The litigation focuses on the "Expert Review" feature, which allegedly violates right-of-publicity laws by utilizing the writing styles of famous authors for commercial purposes without their consent. Investigative journalist Julia Angwin, founder of The Markup and a 2003 Pulitzer Prize winner, initiated the legal action.

Launched in August 2025 for Pro subscribers at a rate of $12 per month, the "Expert Review" feature offered users AI-generated editing that mimicked the voices of prominent figures such as Stephen King and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Angwin, the plaintiff, asserts that some of the writing advice attributed to her conflicted with her professional standards and posed a risk of misleading the public. Represented by Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC, the plaintiff's attorneys cite New York state laws prohibiting the unauthorized commercial use of a person's name, arguing that this principle applies to technology companies utilizing AI.

In response to the lawsuit and the surrounding criticism, Grammarly promptly disabled the "Expert Review" function. Shishir Mehrotra, CEO of Superhuman Platform, Inc., issued an apology, acknowledging that the "agent may have misrepresented their voices" and announcing a review of the company's approach. However, Mehrotra dismissed the legal claims as "meritless" and stated that the company intends to "defend itself vigorously." Management also noted that the feature saw low engagement and was already scheduled for removal as part of a redesign prior to the filing of the lawsuit.

This legal dispute addresses the fundamental question of how existing right-of-publicity doctrines apply to the commercial exploitation of professional identities by generative AI tools. The lawsuit seeks damages exceeding $5 million, citing the unjust enrichment of Superhuman Platform, Inc. As part of the discovery process, the plaintiffs intend to require Superhuman to identify everyone whose style was included in the tool in order to notify potential class members. Other figures mentioned in the suit include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, author Stephen King, and the late astronomer Carl Sagan.

The legal clash carries implications that extend far beyond Grammarly’s specific product. Journalist Casey Newton of The Verge expressed frustration at being turned into an AI editor without any prior notification. Anna Ganley, CEO of the Society of Authors, pointed out that such features demonstrate a process of "stealing and repurposing" writer skills for generative AI, which could lead to the production of low-quality content. While Grammarly serves approximately 40 million users, the evolution of generative tools is forcing the company and the entire industry to rethink the boundaries of utilizing others' intellectual labor.