India’s leading news agency, Asian News International (ANI), has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging unauthorized use of its copyrighted news content to train large language models (LLMs) and generate responses on its chatbot, ChatGPT.
This legal action, filed by Unum Law, marks the first instance of an Indian news publisher suing an AI company for intellectual property violations. The case will be heard by Justice Amit Bansal in the Delhi High Court.
Key Allegations in the Lawsuit:
- ANI accuses OpenAI of using its proprietary content to train LLMs without permission, exploiting it for commercial gain.
- ChatGPT allegedly reproduces ANI’s content verbatim in response to user queries, violating copyright laws.
- ANI claims OpenAI’s chatbot has attributed fabricated statements and news to ANI, with the agency stating, “Such hallucinations pose a real threat to ANI’s reputation and have the potential to spread fake news that could cause public disorder.”
On National Press Day (November 16), Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized AI’s risks to intellectual property, especially for content creators.
He emphasized that AI models are consuming original content, highlighting the need for its protection. “This is more than just an economic concern; it is also a matter of ethics,” he remarked.
ANI’s lawsuit is part of a broader trend as publishers worldwide confront AI companies over copyright infringement. Notable outlets, including The New York Times, have filed lawsuits against firms like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Perplexity.
Similar concerns were raised in India when the family of late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam sent a legal notice to filmmakers for using AI to recreate his voice without consent.
This case is expected to be closely watched as it could set a significant precedent for AI’s use of copyrighted material in India.
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