Media outlets Raw Story, Alternet, and The Intercept have filed lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement in the training of the company’s ChatGPT chatbot. The publications claim that OpenAI used copyrighted content from journalists without proper attribution, seeking damages of at least $2,500 per violation and the removal of all copyrighted articles from training data sets. The Intercept also sued Microsoft, OpenAI’s partner, for developing its Bing chatbot with similar copyrighted information.
John Byrne, CEO of Raw Story, emphasized the need for news organizations to challenge Big Tech’s exploitation of content, stating that publishers must take a stand against the erosion of journalism. OpenAI and Microsoft have not yet commented on the lawsuits, with OpenAI previously expressing a desire to collaborate with publishers to ensure mutual benefits from AI technologies and innovative revenue models.
The legal actions come amid broader industry concerns about the use of generative AI, particularly regarding copyrighted materials used to train algorithms and the potential impact on artistic works. Hollywood unions faced significant issues related to AI during negotiations, while authors and other creators have taken legal action against AI companies for alleged copyright violations.
The digital-only nature of the suing publications raises the stakes, as they argue that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act mandates proper attribution and protection of authorship in protected works. Raw Story’s publisher, Roxanne Cooper, highlighted the collective efforts of human journalists in producing copyright-protected journalism, accusing OpenAI of training ChatGPT to circumvent copyright laws and obscure its use of copyrighted material.
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