A group of eight major U.S. newspapers, including The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, and more, have filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against OpenAI and Microsoft, as reported by The Guardian.
They claim these tech giants violated copyright laws by using millions of their articles to train AI models like ChatGPT and Copilot without permission. The lawsuit, filed in New York, seeks compensatory measures and a jury trial.
Frank Pine, executive editor for the MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, stated, “We’ve spent billions of dollars gathering information and reporting news at our publications, and we can’t allow OpenAI and Microsoft to expand the Big Tech playbook of stealing our work to build their own businesses at our expense.”
The plaintiffs, managed by MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing under Alden Global Capital, seek compensatory measures and a jury trial. They claim AI models not only use copyrighted text but also misattribute information, potentially harming publishers’ credibility and revenue.
AI-generated responses often replicate paywalled content without proper attribution, reducing direct subscriptions. OpenAI and Microsoft, while yet to respond, defend using internet data to train AI under fair use provisions, citing technological advancement benefits.
This lawsuit reflects wider concerns about ethical AI training with copyrighted materials. Some publishers, like The Financial Times, have negotiated licensing deals, setting precedents for future agreements.
This news highlights ongoing debates on AI’s ethical use and its impact on traditional media revenue models.
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