The copyright infringement lawsuit between OpenAI and the New York Times opened in the U.S. Federal Court. This high-profile case not only involves the two giants, but also concerns the future direction of the development of artificial intelligence technology and digital media copyright protection. The core of the lawsuit is whether OpenAI used New York Times content to train its large language model (LLM) without authorization, thereby creating commercial competition. The two parties had a heated debate on key issues such as the principle of "fair use", the working mechanism of LLM, and compensation for damages. The final verdict will have a profound impact on the AI industry and provide an important reference for similar lawsuits in the future.
Recently, a copyright infringement lawsuit between OpenAI and the New York Times opened in the U.S. federal court. The case has attracted widespread attention because it not only involves two well-known institutions, but may also have far-reaching consequences for the entire digital media ecosystem. In court, OpenAI and its major investor Microsoft filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, while the New York Times and other plaintiffs accused OpenAI and Microsoft of using its content to train large language models (LLMs) without a license and exploiting model to compete with the plaintiff, affecting its website traffic and revenue.
Lawyers for the New York Times argued in court that OpenAI may have directly copied multiple news reports when training its model, sometimes even returning full paragraphs or article content when answering user questions. They emphasized that LLMs operate differently than humans and that machines cannot understand and learn information in the same way humans do, so their use of the content should be considered a copyright infringement. Furthermore, they point out that traditional search engines provide original links, allowing publishers to monetize advertising and subscription revenue, while generative search engines provide answers directly, to the detriment of publishers.
In turn, lawyers for OpenAI and Microsoft argued that their actions fell within the scope of "fair use," which is the use of copyrighted material without harming the interests of the copyright holder. They believe that LLM does not store specific copyright content during the training process, but relies on data weights obtained from training. At the same time, the defense mentioned that the plaintiff failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that it had suffered damage.
In court, the two sides launched a heated debate over issues such as relevant provisions of copyright law, how LLM works, and the statute of limitations. The outcome of the case will have an important impact on whether AI companies can use publishers' works for training without permission.
The case involves not only OpenAI but also multiple similar lawsuits and is currently under review against multiple news publishers. It is not yet known when the final judgment will be made, but Judge Stein has shown great concern for the case and may spend more time conducting an in-depth trial.
Highlights:
The copyright infringement lawsuit between the New York Times and OpenAI is being heard in the U.S. federal court and involves important legal issues.
OpenAI and Microsoft argued that its use of copyrighted content was "fair use," while the New York Times argued that it was copyright infringement.
⏳ The court’s decision will have a significant impact on the legality of AI companies using publishers’ works for training.
The outcome of this case will have a profound impact on the development of the artificial intelligence industry and media copyright protection, and subsequent developments deserve continued attention. The judge’s final ruling will not only affect OpenAI, but will also set a new legal framework for AI companies to use copyrighted content in the future, providing a new direction for copyright protection in the digital media era.