Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright infringement

The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging widespread copyright infringement. The publishers state that the companies used their copyrighted journalism as training data for artificial intelligence models without permission. Furthermore, the suit claims that the resulting systems frequently reproduce verbatim passages from their reporting in response to user queries.

Defendants and broader context

Microsoft is named as a co-defendant in the legal action because the Copilot service is built directly upon OpenAI technology. This lawsuit mirrors similar legal challenges brought by other major publishers, including The New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, and Encyclopedia Britannica. Additionally, the new plaintiffs join a growing coalition of nearly 400 local newspapers that have taken legal action against the two technology companies over copyright concerns.

Financial impact and demands

The publishers argue that AI chatbots reduce the necessity for users to visit original news websites for information and answers, directly diminishing valuable subscription and advertising revenue.

As part of the legal remedy, The Seattle Times and Newsday are seeking significant measures:

• The destruction of any copies of their works held by the defendants
• The purging of training datasets that incorporate their material
• The destruction of AI models built using their copyrighted journalism

Neither OpenAI nor Microsoft immediately responded to requests for public comment regarding the filing.