The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of copyright infringement. The complaint asserts that the companies used Times content to train AI models, competing directly with the newspaper. The Times seeks billions in damages, a permanent injunction, and the destruction of AI models incorporating its journalism.
AT A GLANCE
- Lawsuit Filed: The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement. The Times claims that the companies used its articles without permission to train AI models like ChatGPT, creating products that compete with the newspaper.
- Copyright Violation Allegations: The Times asserts that OpenAI and Microsoft copied millions of its articles for AI model training, posing a threat to the newspaper’s ability to offer unique services. The companies are accused of emphasizing Times content in their copying to build competing products without proper authorization or compensation.
- Failed Negotiations: The Times initiated negotiations with OpenAI and Microsoft to seek fair compensation and terms of agreement after discovering the unauthorized use of its work. However, the newspaper alleges that these discussions were unsuccessful, and the companies contend that the use falls under “fair use.”
- Fair Use Dispute: The lawsuit challenges the companies’ claim of “fair use,” arguing that AI models like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot provide services similar to the Times, making the copying of its content for training purposes unfair and detrimental to the newspaper.
- Impact on Revenue: The Times claims that the AI tools, trained on its content, generate output that mimics its style and wrongly attributes information. This alleged unauthorized use damages the newspaper’s relationship with readers and deprives it of subscription, licensing, advertising, and affiliate revenue.
- Billions in Damages Sought: The Times is seeking billions of dollars in damages in the lawsuit, without specifying the exact amount. Additionally, the newspaper seeks a permanent injunction to stop the alleged infringement and requests the destruction of AI models or datasets that incorporate its journalism.
The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of copyright infringement. The newspaper alleges that the companies used its articles without permission to train their artificial intelligence models, such as ChatGPT, creating competition for the Times. This legal action is part of a broader trend of lawsuits targeting the unauthorized use of internet content to train large language AI models.
Allegations on OpenAI and Microsoft
In the complaint, the Times claims that OpenAI and Microsoft unlawfully copied millions of its articles to develop AI products that directly compete with the newspaper. The Times argues that the companies gave particular emphasis to its content, utilizing it to build substitute products without obtaining proper permission or providing compensation. Microsoft, which has a significant investment in OpenAI, has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
The Times had previously objected to the use of its work in training these AI models, initiating negotiations with OpenAI and Microsoft to seek fair compensation. However, the newspaper alleges that an agreement could not be reached, as the companies argue that their use falls under the concept of “fair use.”
The lawsuit emphasizes that the Times’ objection is based on the concern that AI models like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot could offer services similar to the newspaper without proper compensation. The Times asserts that the copying of its works for training purposes is not “fair use” because the AI models generated from such training directly compete with and closely mimic the original content.
This legal action by the New York Times is a significant move, being the first among major news publishers to take on OpenAI and Microsoft, two prominent names in the field of artificial intelligence. Other lawsuits have also been filed against companies like Meta and OpenAI, alleging the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials to train AI language models.
The Times seeks substantial damages in the billions of dollars, without specifying a precise amount, and requests a permanent injunction to prevent further alleged infringement. Additionally, the newspaper demands the “destruction” of AI models and training datasets that incorporate its journalism. The lawsuit reflects the ongoing struggle between content creators and AI developers over the use of copyrighted materials to train artificial intelligence models.
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Source(s): The New York Times
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