On Wednesday, the New York Times filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, creating a new front in the escalating legal dispute over the unapproved use of published works to train AI systems.
New York Times Sued Open AI and Microsoft
The businesses behind ChatGPT and other well-known AI platforms sued by The Times, the first significant American media outlet, for copyright violations related to its written works.
The case submitted to the Federal District Court in Manhattan, claims that automated chatbots trained on millions of articles published by The Times, now in competition with the news organization as a trustworthy source of information.
However, there is no precise financial demand in the lawsuit.
However, it states that “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” resulting from “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works” should attribute to the defendants.
The News Organization Demands
Additionally, it demands that any chatbot models and training data utilizing The Times’ copyrighted content must destroy by the corporations.
The Times stated in its complaint that it contacted OpenAI and Microsoft in April to express concerns about the use of its intellectual property and look into “an amicable resolution,” which would entail a business arrangement and “technological guardrails” around products that use generative artificial intelligence.
However, it stated that no settlement had reached during the discussions.
Speaking with The Times, OpenAI’s Lindsey Held expressed that the company had “moving forward constructively” and expressed astonishment and disappointment by the lawsuit.
“We respect the rights of content creators and owners and are committed to working with them to ensure they benefit from A.I. technology and new revenue models,” Ms. Held said.
“We’re hopeful that we will find a mutually beneficial way to work together, as we are doing with many other publishers.”
Microsoft Stance
However, Microsoft chose not to address the matter.
The lawsuit could have a significant impact on the news industry and test the developing legal boundaries of generative artificial intelligence (A.I.) technologies, which are named for the writing, photos, and other content they can produce after learning from massive data sets.
The Times is one of a select few publications that has successfully made a living off of online journalism, but the shift of readers toward the internet has hurt dozens of newspapers and magazines.
Meanwhile, billions of dollars invested in OpenAI and other A.I. tech companies that train chatbots using a vast range of internet content, including screenplays, poems, and newspaper articles.
Moreover, Investors currently place OpenAI’s value at above $80 billion. Microsoft has made a $13 billion commitment to OpenAI and integrated the technology of the firm into its Bing search engine.
To read our blog on “OpenAI to rehire Sam Altman as a CEO with new board members,” click here.
