Newspapers Take Legal Action Against OpenAI and Microsoft for Copyright Infringement

In a federal court in New York, eight American newspapers filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against OpenAI and Microsoft. The newspapers, owned by Alden Global Capital, are accusing the companies of violating copyright laws by using millions of copyrighted articles to train their AI technology behind chatbots ChatGPT and Co-pilot.

The lawsuit claims that OpenAI and Microsoft used copyrighted content without permission or payment to enhance their AI products. The media companies argue that the defendants must obtain consent and pay a fair value for using their content. Additionally, the lawsuit accuses the companies of providing verbatim excerpts from entire articles and attributing misleading information to publications in certain applications.

Other newspapers involved in the lawsuit include The Orlando Sentinel, The Florida Sun Sentinel, The San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post, The Orange County Register, and The St. Paul Pioneer Press. OpenAI and Microsoft did not address the specific allegations but stated that they take great care with their products and design process to support news organizations.

This lawsuit is similar to one filed by The New York Times in December against OpenAI. In that case, OpenAI defended itself by arguing that using publicly available data, including news articles, is fair use. OpenAI also accused The New York Times of violating the usage guidelines for ChatGPT. Microsoft declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Some media organizations have chosen to partner with OpenAI instead of taking legal action. For example, The Associated Press, the Financial Times, and Le Monde have all partnered with the company. This partnership has allowed them to leverage OpenAI’s technology for journalistic purposes while avoiding legal disputes with other AI companies.

The outcome of this lawsuit will likely impact how AI companies use copyrighted content in the future. If successful in their case against OpenAI and Microsoft, these newspapers could set a precedent for others seeking compensation for their content being used without permission or payment.

Overall, this case highlights the need for greater clarity around copyright laws when it comes to AI technology and its use of copyrighted content from news organizations.