The New York Times has accused OpenAI and Microsoft of "unlawful use" of its content, leading to "billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages." Other lawsuits have been filed by authors like John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, and George RR Martin, as well as Getty Images and music publishers, including Universal Music. OpenAI maintains that it complies with copyright laws and is in ongoing negotiations with The New York Times for a "high-value partnership." The company also emphasizes its support for journalism and its belief in the legality of its training practices under the fair use doctrine.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI and Microsoft are facing multiple lawsuits over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted content in training their AI models.
- OpenAI has stated that it is 'impossible' to train AI models without using copyrighted materials, arguing that limiting training data to public domain works would result in inadequate AI systems.
- Notable authors and companies, including the New York Times and Getty Images, have taken legal action against OpenAI, accusing the company of copyright breaches and 'systematic theft on a mass scale.'
- OpenAI maintains its practices are legal under the fair use doctrine and is taking measures to support content creators, such as allowing publishers to block web crawlers and developing mechanisms for rightsholders to opt out of training.