The New York Times has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming that their AI models, including ChatGPT, used millions of articles from the newspaper without permission for training purposes. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants should be held responsible for billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages for unlawfully using The Times’s valuable works. According to the complaint, the companies gave particular emphasis to the New York Times content while building their systems, essentially using it to develop substitutive products without authorization or payment.
The lawsuit states that ChatGPT has incorporated millions of articles from The Times without consent, and the tool is now seen as a competitor to the newspaper as a reliable source of information. It points out that when asked about current events, ChatGPT sometimes generates verbatim excerpts from New York Times articles, which are typically accessible only through a subscription. The lawsuit emphasizes the importance of The Times’s independent journalism to democracy and argues that its unauthorized use threatens the newspaper’s ability to provide that service, as well as its financial prospects.
The complaint reveals that The Times had previously objected to the usage of its content by OpenAI and Microsoft and had engaged in negotiations to receive fair compensation and establish terms of an agreement. However, the parties were unable to reach a resolution, with Microsoft and OpenAI claiming that the Times’s works fell under fair use. The Times strongly opposes this claim, asserting that the defendants’ AI models, such as ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing chatbot, offer comparable services to the newspaper without payment and, therefore, do not qualify as fair use.
This lawsuit marks the first time a major American media organization has taken legal action against creators of popular AI platforms over copyright concerns pertaining to its written works. The case will shed light on the ethics and boundaries of utilizing copyrighted materials in AI development, as well as the potential impact on media organizations.
The outcome of this legal dispute will have significant ramifications for the future use of copyrighted content in AI models and the relationship between media outlets and tech companies. As technology continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly crucial to address the balance between innovation and intellectual property protection.
