The New York Times, along with other copyright owners, has sued tech companies, including OpenAI and its main financial backer, Microsoft, for allegedly using their work without permission to train AI systems. The tech companies argue that their AI systems make fair use of copyrighted material. Courts have not yet determined whether AI training constitutes fair use under copyright law. OpenAI believes that it and other AI companies will eventually win their cases based on the fair-use question.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI has asked a federal judge to dismiss parts of the New York Times’ copyright lawsuit against it, arguing that the newspaper manipulated its AI systems to generate misleading evidence.
- The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December, accusing them of using its articles without permission to train chatbots.
- OpenAI argues that the Times cannot prevent AI models from acquiring knowledge about facts, and that it and other AI companies will eventually win their cases based on the fair-use question.
- Courts have not yet addressed the key question of whether AI training qualifies as fair use under copyright law.