These lawsuits are part of a series of legal actions against OpenAI over alleged copyright infringement, including a suit from the New York Times in December. The media industry is concerned that generative AI will compete with established publishers for internet users and advertising revenues, while also undermining the quality of online news. However, some publishers, like international publisher Axel Springer, have chosen to partner with OpenAI. The lawsuits are seeking damages and profits from OpenAI.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI and Microsoft are facing lawsuits from three US news outlets - the Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet - over allegations that their AI products violated copyright laws and were illegally trained on journalists’ work.
- The news outlets claim that the companies plagiarized copyright-protected articles to develop and operate ChatGPT, OpenAI’s most prominent generative AI tool, which they allege does not respect copyright, ignores proper attribution, and fails to notify users when it uses protected work.
- The Intercept’s lawsuit lists both OpenAI and Microsoft as defendants, while the joint suit filed by Raw Story and AlterNet only lists OpenAI. The law firm Loevy & Loevy is representing all three outlets in the suits.
- The lawsuits reflect a broader concern in the media industry that generative AI will compete with established publishers as a source of information, while further reducing advertising revenues and undermining the quality of online news.