The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft for infringing its copyright. The publisher claims that the companies used its content to train generative artificial intelligence and large-language model systems without permission or payment.
The lawsuit states that the companies used the paper’s “copyrighted news articles, in-depth investigations, opinion pieces, reviews, how-to guides, and more” to create substitute products that threaten the Times’ ability to provide its services.Although the companies copied information from numerous sources, they allegedly gave the New York Times content “particular emphasis.”
The lawsuit asserts that the Times’ independent journalism is vital to democracy and increasingly rare and valuable. Additionally, in the lawsuit, the publisher claims that AI “hallucinations” can damage the New York Times’ brand. One instance mentioned in the lawsuit is when Microsoft’s Bing Chat misidentified content as Times’ material, including twelve items in search results for “the 15 most heart-healthy foods” that were not mentioned in the Times article.
“There is nothing ‘transformative’ about using The Times’s content without payment to create products that substitute for The Times and steal audiences away from it,” the New York Times said.
According to The Times, the reason behind its lawsuit against tech companies was the breakdown of negotiations over the use of Times material. The newspaper informed that it had approached the tech firms to discuss using its intellectual property to find a mutually agreeable resolution. The discussions included commercial agreements and setting guidelines around AI products. However, the talks did not move forward, and the discussions stalled.
The Times is seeking damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, although they haven’t specified a particular amount. They believe the damages could be in the billions of dollars. Additionally, The Times wants OpenAI and Microsoft to destroy any chatbot models and training sets that contain its copyrighted material.
“These bots compete with the content they are trained on,” said Ian B. Crosby, lead counsel at Susman Godfrey, representing The Times.
OpenAI and Microsoft claim that using copyrighted works to train AI products is considered “fair use.” This legal doctrine allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material.
“We respect the rights of content creators and owners,” OpenAI said in a statement. “Our ongoing conversations with the New York Times have been productive and moving forward constructively, so we are surprised and disappointed with this development.”
The lawsuit states that the companies used the paper’s “copyrighted news articles, in-depth investigations, opinion pieces, reviews, how-to guides, and more” to create substitute products that threaten the Times’ ability to provide its services.Although the companies copied information from numerous sources, they allegedly gave the New York Times content “particular emphasis.”
The lawsuit asserts that the Times’ independent journalism is vital to democracy and increasingly rare and valuable. Additionally, in the lawsuit, the publisher claims that AI “hallucinations” can damage the New York Times’ brand. One instance mentioned in the lawsuit is when Microsoft’s Bing Chat misidentified content as Times’ material, including twelve items in search results for “the 15 most heart-healthy foods” that were not mentioned in the Times article.
“There is nothing ‘transformative’ about using The Times’s content without payment to create products that substitute for The Times and steal audiences away from it,” the New York Times said.
According to The Times, the reason behind its lawsuit against tech companies was the breakdown of negotiations over the use of Times material. The newspaper informed that it had approached the tech firms to discuss using its intellectual property to find a mutually agreeable resolution. The discussions included commercial agreements and setting guidelines around AI products. However, the talks did not move forward, and the discussions stalled.
The Times is seeking damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, although they haven’t specified a particular amount. They believe the damages could be in the billions of dollars. Additionally, The Times wants OpenAI and Microsoft to destroy any chatbot models and training sets that contain its copyrighted material.
“These bots compete with the content they are trained on,” said Ian B. Crosby, lead counsel at Susman Godfrey, representing The Times.
OpenAI and Microsoft claim that using copyrighted works to train AI products is considered “fair use.” This legal doctrine allows for the unlicensed use of copyrighted material.
“We respect the rights of content creators and owners,” OpenAI said in a statement. “Our ongoing conversations with the New York Times have been productive and moving forward constructively, so we are surprised and disappointed with this development.”