A Delhi High Court decision finds OpenAI did not infringe ANI’s copyright by using news content for AI training. The ruling clarifies legal boundaries for AI model development in India. Media and tech companies are watching closely.
Media and publishing professionals in India now have a clearer legal precedent on AI training data after the Delhi High Court ruled that OpenAI’s use of ANI’s news articles to train ChatGPT does not violate copyright law. The decision addresses a key concern for publishers and AI developers over the use of copyrighted news content in large language models.
ANI filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in November 2024, alleging that the U.S.-based company used its published news reports without permission to train its AI models and that ChatGPT sometimes attributed fabricated stories to ANI. Justice Amit Bansal, presiding over the case, stated that ANI did not provide evidence showing ChatGPT memorized or reproduced its news reports in user responses.
The court found that OpenAI’s storage and use of ANI’s articles for model training is protected under India’s Copyright Act, specifically under the fair-dealing exemption for research. As a result, the court concluded that OpenAI’s actions did not infringe on ANI’s copyright.
This ruling is the first substantive court decision in India on whether AI companies can use copyrighted news content for training without a license. Similar legal battles are ongoing in the United States and Canada, making the Indian decision a closely watched development for global media and technology sectors. The debate over AI and copyright is also prompting newsrooms in other regions to formalize their own AI policies, as seen in recent efforts by Latin American publishers to set boundaries for AI in editorial work.
OpenAI, founded in 2015, has become a leading player in artificial intelligence research and development. Its flagship product, ChatGPT, reached over 100 million active users within months of launch and is widely used by businesses, publishers, and individuals worldwide. The company has raised billions in funding and continues to expand its partnerships and product offerings across multiple industries.
