Nearly 400 local publishers have taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft. The lawsuit claims their news content was copied to train AI tools without consent. The case raises new questions about copyright and the future of local journalism.
Local news publishers are escalating their fight to protect original reporting from unauthorized use by artificial intelligence platforms. On June 24, a coalition representing nearly 400 local newspapers filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that both companies systematically copied copyrighted articles to train and develop commercial AI products, including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, without obtaining permission or providing compensation.
The publishers, represented by Platkin LLP-a law firm founded by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin-argue that OpenAI and Microsoft violated the Copyright Act by using their original news content to build AI systems. The complaint also claims that OpenAI intentionally removed copyright management information from the publishers’ work, such as author bylines, copyright notices, and terms of use, which the lawsuit says breaches the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
This legal action highlights growing tensions between technology companies and news organizations over the use of journalistic content in AI training. The publishers contend that these practices threaten the sustainability of local journalism by undermining the value of original reporting. Similar concerns have been raised in other markets, as seen when UK publishers supported legislation to increase transparency around AI web scraping, detailed in this recent report on publisher responses to AI content use.
