The Seattle Times and Newsday have become the newest plaintiffs in ongoing legal battles against OpenAI, accusing the artificial intelligence company of copyright infringement. The publishers allege that OpenAI utilized their journalism as training data for its AI models without obtaining permission. Furthermore, they claim the company frequently reproduces passages from their reporting when responding to user queries.
In addition to targeting OpenAI, the lawsuits name Microsoft as a defendant. The publishers argue that Microsoft should be held accountable because its Copilot service is built upon OpenAI’s underlying technology.
This legal action mirrors similar suits filed by major publications such as The New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, and Encyclopedia Britannica. These cases are part of a broader wave of litigation, with nearly 400 local newspapers recently joining forces to sue both tech giants over alleged copyright violations.
Does this actually change how AI models are built, or is it just another costly legal battle that delays progress?
Finally, someone is holding tech giants accountable for stealing journalistic work. This is a long overdue step toward fair compensation.