Copyright Violations
In a significant legal development, The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the unauthorized use of millions of the newspaper’s articles for training artificial intelligence technologies, particularly in the development of platforms like ChatGPT.
This legal action marks The Times as the first major U.S. media organization to take legal recourse against OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright issues. The newspaper contends that the defendants have exploited its journalistic content without permission or compensation, utilizing it to create AI products that serve as substitutes for The Times and potentially divert audiences away from the original source.
The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, asserts that the defendants are attempting to benefit from The Times’s substantial investment in journalism without proper authorization. The newspaper argues that the utilization of its content without payment to develop products is not a transformative use but rather an infringement.
While OpenAI and Microsoft have not immediately responded to the legal action, The Times is not seeking a specified amount of damages. However, it claims that the actions of OpenAI and Microsoft have resulted in “billions of dollars” in damages. Additionally, The Times is seeking the destruction of chatbot models and training sets that incorporate its copyrighted material.
This lawsuit comes amid a broader trend, as other content creators, including novelists like David Baldacci, Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, and Scott Turow, have also taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the potential misuse of tens of thousands of their books by AI systems. Comedian Sarah Silverman similarly sued OpenAI and Meta Platforms in July, claiming that her book “The Bedwetter” was allegedly used without proper authorization for training ChatGPT.
As the legal landscape evolves, these cases highlight the growing intersection between artificial intelligence development and copyright concerns, prompting closer scrutiny and legal challenges to ensure the protection of intellectual property rights. Overall, NY Times Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft, Citing Copyright Violations in Training AI Technologies with Millions of Articles.
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