OpenAI, Microsoft Sued By The New York Times Over Alleged Copyright Breach

The New York Times Co. NYT has launched legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. MSFT over claims of copyright infringement linked to the alleged unauthorized use of its published content to train artificial intelligence technologies.

What Happened: The lawsuit, as reported by the New York Times, alleges that millions of articles from the Times were utilized to train AI chatbots, which now compete with the publisher in delivering reliable information.

This case is the first of its kind brought forth by a major American media company against creators of AI platforms, including the likes of ChatGPT.

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Lodged in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, the lawsuit makes no specific monetary demand. It asks that the defendants be answerable for "billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages" due to the “unlawful copying and use” of Times’ copyrighted works.

The suit also calls for the eradication of any chatbot models and training data using the Times' copyrighted material.

This lawsuit could be a pivotal legal test for generative AI technologies and their use of extensive data sets, including content such as text and images.

The Times accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of "using The Times’s content without payment to create products that substitute for The Times and steal audiences away from it."

These legal proceedings come after a deadlock in negotiations between the Times, Microsoft and OpenAI over the use of the Times' intellectual property. The Times had approached both companies in April to address concerns about the use of its content, but no agreement was reached.

The Times’ complaint includes instances of chatbots providing users with almost word-for-word excerpts from Times articles that would typically require a paid subscription. It alleges that OpenAI and Microsoft highlighted the use of Times journalism in training their AI programs due to the perceived reliability and accuracy of the material.

Why It Matters: This lawsuit comes in the wake of an earlier report in September that the Times may sue OpenAI over the alleged use of its data for training AI chatbots. This report indicated that negotiations between OpenAI and the Times over licensing agreements had broken down.

Moreover, this lawsuit is not the first of its kind against OpenAI and Microsoft. A group of 11 nonfiction authors, including Pulitzer Prize winners, joined an ongoing lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against OpenAI and Microsoft.

These authors accused the companies of using their writings without permission for training AI programs.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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