The New York Times has taken legal action against Microsoft and OpenAI, claiming that their AI platforms are engaging in copyright infringement and posing a threat to the free press and society. This lawsuit marks the first time a major American media organization has challenged copyright issues in this manner.
The newspaper has filed a complaint with the federal court in Manhattan, seeking billions of dollars in damages for the unauthorized use and copying of its valuable works. Additionally, The New York Times has demanded that the defendants delete any chatbot models and training data that have utilized its copyrighted material.
The complaint accuses Microsoft and OpenAI of capitalizing on the newspaper’s extensive investment in journalism without providing compensation, thereby creating products that serve as substitutes for The New York Times and divert audiences away from it. It is worth noting that Microsoft has already integrated some of OpenAI’s technology into its search engine, Bing, and has committed to investing $13 billion into OpenAI.
The lawsuit highlights an example where the ChatGPT-powered Browse With Bing produced search results that closely resembled content from The New York Times’ product review site, Wirecutter, without proper attribution or referral links, resulting in a loss of revenue for the newspaper.
Microsoft and OpenAI have allegedly placed significant importance on utilizing the journalism of The Times due to its perceived reliability and accuracy.
The newspaper argues that if news organizations like The Times cannot produce and safeguard their independent journalism, there will be a void that cannot be filled by computers or artificial intelligence, resulting in a decrease in journalism production and substantial societal consequences.
Despite The Times’ attempt to find a mutually agreeable solution to the copyright matter with OpenAI and Microsoft, no resolution has been reached. Other media outlets, such as the Associated Press and Axel Springer, have managed to establish agreements with OpenAI for the use of their content.
Susman Godfrey, the law firm representing The Times, is the same firm that recently filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI and represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation case against Fox News concerning the 2020 US presidential election. As of now, Microsoft and OpenAI have not provided a response to the complaint.
