NYT sues Microsoft, OpenAI over ‘copyright infringement’

The New York Times has filed a case accusing Microsoft and OpenAI of copyright infringement through their generative artificial intelligence tools, according to a Bar and Bench report.

The publication has claimed that Microsoft's Bing Chat, which has been rechristened as Copilot, and OpenAI's ChatGPT, used millions of copyrighted pieces from the publication to train their AI tools. It also alleged that these tools not just copy content but also attribute false information to the publication.

The lawsuit, reportedly filed through Susman Godfrey LLP and Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, PC, contends that this has impacted the NYT’s subscription, licensing, advertising and affiliate revenue.

The case in a New York court comes after months of negotiations, with NYT claiming that the defendants insisted on their conduct being protected as “fair use”. It has sought damages while holding the two firms responsible for the alleged unlawful copying and use of NYT’s content.

Generative AI tools have faced increasing scrutiny in recent years, with media organisations raising concerns about misinformation attributed to them and content being used without attribution.

Newslaundry had earlier reported how nine Indian newsrooms had opted out of AI trackers. Read this report to understand why.