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May 22 min read

US Newspapers Take Legal Action Against OpenAI and Microsoft for Copyright Infringement in AI Training

US newspapers, including New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, sue OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement in AI training. Lawsuit alleges that millions of articles were unlawfully copied to train AI systems. OpenAI spokesperson emphasises the company's support for news organisations, while Microsoft declines to comment.

OpenAI
Credit: REUTERS

A group of prominent US newspapers, including the New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI in a New York federal court. The newspapers allege that the companies have unlawfully used their reporters' work to train their generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems.


The lawsuit, brought by eight newspapers owned by investment firm Alden Global Capital's MediaNews Group, claims that Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT have copied millions of articles without permission. This follows similar ongoing lawsuits against the tech giants by The New York Times, The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet.


In response to the allegations, an OpenAI spokesperson stated that the company takes great care to support news organisations in its product development and design process. On the other hand, Microsoft declined to comment on the complaint.


These newspaper cases are part of a series of potential landmark lawsuits where copyright owners are challenging tech companies over the use of data to train their generative AI systems. Steven Lieberman, a lawyer representing the MediaNews publications, argued that OpenAI owes its success to the works of others and cannot simply take content without permission or payment.


The lawsuit claims that Microsoft and OpenAI's systems reproduce the newspapers' copyrighted content verbatim when prompted. It also alleges that ChatGPT "hallucinates" articles falsely attributed to the newspapers, damaging their reputations. Examples cited include a fake Denver Post article promoting smoking as an asthma cure and a bogus Chicago Tribune recommendation for an infant lounger that was linked to child deaths and subsequently recalled.


The plaintiffs in the case include the Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, and Twin Cities Pioneer Press. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction to prevent any further infringement.

 

  • US newspapers, including New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, sue OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement in AI training.

  • Lawsuit alleges that millions of articles were unlawfully copied to train AI systems.

  • OpenAI spokesperson emphasises the company's support for news organisations, while Microsoft declines to comment.


Source: REUTERS

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