OpenAI challenges New York Times over originality of articles
In a legal dispute that has attracted significant attention, OpenAI is challenging The New York Times to prove the originality of its articles. The Times had previously sued OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, in December 2023, alleging copyright infringement. The newspaper accused OpenAI and Microsoft of using its extensive archive of articles to train ChatGPT.
OpenAI’s lawyers have responded by requesting evidence from The Times to support its claim of original, human-authored content in their articles. They specifically asked for underlying reporter’s notes, interview memos, records of materials cited, or other files for each work in question but did not request confidential information like sources’ names.
The Times, in turn, filed a response to OpenAI’s request, labeling it as harassment and retaliation for the lawsuit. The newspaper argued that OpenAI’s demand for extensive documentation was unprecedented and overly broad. They stated that OpenAI had no grounds to seek unbounded discovery into almost 100 years of reporters’ files purely to cast doubt on the validity of The Times’s registered copyrights.
Furthermore, The Times mentioned that OpenAI’s request for invasive discovery had no legal basis and was outside the scope of what’s allowed under Federal Rules. They asserted that OpenAI’s actions served no purpose other than harassment and retaliation against the newspaper.
This legal battle is not limited to The New York Times, as the Center for Investigative Reporting also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement. Several U.S. media organizations have joined in taking a stand against alleged copyright violations by OpenAI.
In light of these developments, it remains to be seen how the legal proceedings between OpenAI and The New York Times will unfold. The case raises important questions about intellectual property rights in the age of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
