Media Giants Microsoft and OpenAI Sued for Copyright Infringement by Nonprofit Journalism Group

Microsoft and OpenAI have been accused of copyright infringement by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIR), a nonprofit organization that supports the U.S. government. CIR announced on Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit against the two companies, alleging that they copied its articles to train their AI without seeking permission or offering compensation.

The move follows similar lawsuits by other media outlets, including the New York Times, which spent $1 million in its own lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft. A group of eight publications owned by Alden Global Capital are also involved in a lawsuit, along with author groups and The Intercept. Raw Story, AlterNet, and The Denver Post.

In a statement, Monika Bauerlein, CEO of CIR, said that OpenAI and Microsoft’s behavior is unfair and a copyright violation. She added that the work of journalists at CIR and other organizations is valuable and should be respected.

OpenAI’s lawyers denied any wrongdoing in a statement to CNBC, saying that they had signed licensing agreements with several media organizations to showcase their content in their products like ChatGPT. They added that they were working with the news industry to drive traffic to original articles while providing attribution for quotes and summaries used in their products.