8 newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft over copyright infringement
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Eight prominent American newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the tech giants of copyright infringement.
The complaint, lodged in the Southern District of New York, alleges the companies “purloined millions of the Publishers’ copyrighted articles without permission and without payment” to train their generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models, including ChatGPT and Copilot.
The plaintiffs include major regional dailies such as the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Denver Post, Orange County Register and St. Paul Pioneer Press.
They claim OpenAI and Microsoft removed key attribution details like journalist bylines when using their content to generate AI responses. The lawsuit also alleges trademark violations and reputational damage from AI hallucination – fabricated outputs presented as factual information.
“A GPT model completely fabricated that the Denver Post published research and medical observations that smoking can be a cure for asthma,” the complaint states.
“Similarly, a GPT model erroneously alleged that Mercury News endorsed the practice of injecting disinfectant to cure Covid-19.”
A source familiar with Alden’s media holdings indicated the company chose litigation over negotiating a deal, though more of its 60 daily papers could join the lawsuit later.
Echoing New York Times’ legal battle
The new lawsuit adds significant weight to the ongoing legal battle initiated by the New York Times against the same AI firms. While many publishers have opted for paid licensing deals, the Times argues it should receive billions in damages for the alleged copyright violations.
OpenAI has contested the Times’ claims as “without merit,” arguing that training AI on published content constitutes fair use.
In a public statement, the AI giant accused The Times of “intentionally manipulating prompts, often including lengthy excerpts of articles, in order to get the model to regurgitate.”
Implications of lawsuits against AI giants
While some publishers like the Financial Times and the Associated Press have negotiated paid agreements with AI firms, the plaintiffs in this case have chosen to confront the alleged infringements head-on.
As the legal fight escalates, it may fundamentally alter the relationship between tech companies and content creators in the AI age. This legal confrontation underscores a growing concern among news publishers about the potential of AI technologies to disrupt traditional revenue streams.
