The Boston Herald, alongside eight other regional newspapers, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging violations of copyright law by using the newspapers’ content to train their artificial intelligence technologies. The lawsuit, submitted on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks over $10 billion in damages from the tech giants.
This group of plaintiffs includes the Hartford Courant, the Los Angeles Daily News, The San Diego Union-Tribune, the San Bernardino Sun, the Morning Call in eastern Pennsylvania, the Boulder Daily Camera, and the Daily Press and Virginian-Pilot in southern Virginia. All entities are owned or managed by MediaNews Group.
According to the complaint, AI models utilized by the defendants were allegedly trained on copyrighted material scraped from the internet without regard for paywalls or publishers’ rights. Steve Lieberman, a lawyer representing the group, stated, “There is no longer any question that AI models feed on copyrighted content.”
The lawsuit argues that while OpenAI incurs expenses for its technology—such as chips, computers, and programmers—it “steals” valuable content from journalists without payment or permission. Lieberman further stated, “Through this lawsuit, the news plaintiffs seek to make OpenAI pay for what it has taken.”
This legal action follows earlier lawsuits against OpenAI, including a significant complaint from the New York Times lodged in December 2023. The Times was the first news outlet to sue OpenAI over alleged copyright infringements, claiming the tech company utilized millions of articles to develop its AI chatbots.
In its lawsuit, the New York Times demanded that OpenAI be held liable for “billions” in damages and requested the destruction of AI products that were allegedly developed using its content. This trend of legal challenges reflects heightened scrutiny of how AI systems utilize existing media and raises questions about intellectual property rights in the digital age.
Representatives from OpenAI and Microsoft have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the latest lawsuit. The ongoing legal landscape around AI technology continues to evolve, as more publishers seek to protect their content and assert their rights amid the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence.
As the case progresses, it may set significant precedents regarding the boundaries of copyright in the context of AI training and the responsibilities of tech companies in respecting intellectual property. The outcome could influence future interactions between media organizations and AI developers, reshaping the landscape of content creation and utilization.
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