Three digital media outlets have taken legal action against OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement, accusing the artificial intelligence company of improperly using copyrighted works by journalists to train chatbots. The lawsuits, filed by Raw Story, Alternet, and The Intercept, claim that OpenAI purposely concealed its infringement by removing essential information such as bylines or headlines from the original articles.
The media companies are demanding damages of at least $2,500 per violation and are requesting that OpenAI removes all copyrighted materials from its training sets. The lawsuits highlight the choice that OpenAI made to strip copyrighted works of their copyright management information, thereby training chatbots to disregard copyright acknowledgment and attribution.
In addition to OpenAI, The Intercept also sued Microsoft for developing a chatbot with similar training methods that included copyrighted content. This legal action comes amidst a growing struggle for publishers who must decide whether to push back against the encroachment of technology companies on the media industry or permit the use of copyrighted materials at a high cost.
The New York Times has previously filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, asserting that their generative AI tools rely on large language models constructed by copying millions of copyrighted news articles from The Times. This lawsuit signifies the first major case from news publishers regarding generative AI capabilities and the training methods used for chatbots.
Despite these challenges, some organizations like News Corp. have partnered with OpenAI to provide high-quality content for generative AI companies. News Corp.’s CEO, Robert Thomson, criticized The New York Times’ lawsuit, emphasizing the importance of collaboration over litigation in such matters.
As the debate over copyright infringement in the age of AI continues, it remains to be seen how the legal landscape will evolve to address the complex interplay between technology, media, and intellectual property rights.
