The New York Times sued OpenAI and its backer Microsoft for copyright infringement on the 27th, accusing the two of using the New York Times publications without paying a penny to train generative artificial intelligence (AI), which is tantamount to “free riding”. It is the first major U.S. news organization to sue the two companies over copyright issues.
In its complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the New York Times claims that OpenAI and Microsoft used “millions” of New York Times articles to train chatbots without authorization, and now respond with relevant content to users looking for credible information, becoming competitors that steal media audiences. The New York Times considered that this does not apply to the “fair use” doctrine because the AI tools can provide large portions of the New York Times articles almost verbatim.
The lawsuit did not specify the amount of compensation sought, but the New York Times believes that it is one of the main sources of information for OpenAI and Microsoft AI products, and this “illegal copying and use of The New York Times’ unique works” is estimated to have caused the New York Times billions of dollars in loss.
The New York Times asked the two companies to delete chatbot models and training materials containing the New York Times content.
The complaint also mentioned that the New York Times raised concerns with Microsoft and OpenAI in April about this use of the company’s intellectual property rights, and explored amicable solutions, including commercial agreements, to deal with issues arising from the generative AI products. However, no consensus was reached.
The New York Times also emphasized that the erroneous information presented by the AI “hallucination” may in turn damage the New York Times’ brand image.
The Wall Street Journal noted that this lawsuit raised the possibility of future divisions in the media publishing industry, some of the major publishers may follow the New York Times and take legal action.
Currently, companies such as the Associated Press and Axel Springer, which owns Business Insider and Politico, have reached commercial agreements with OpenAI to license their content to the company.
Source: Economic Daily News
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