Seattle Times, Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement

Live updates

1. 7d ago

   Seattle Times and Newsday File Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft

   The Seattle Times and Newsday filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on Friday. The publishers allege that the tech companies copied their journalism without authorization to train artificial intelligence models. This legal challenge involves news organizations that previously partnered with the technology firms. The lawsuit adds to mounting legal battles over intellectual property rights as artificial intelligence developers scrape copyrighted text for training data. Meanwhile, top researchers and international officials continue to issue warnings regarding the swift pace and potential risks of artificial intelligence expansion.

   Why it matters

   News organizations are increasingly turning to the courts to protect their proprietary content from being harvested by technology developers. This friction highlights a deep divide between publishers seeking compensation for their journalism and artificial intelligence companies relying on massive data ingestion. The ongoing litigation will likely set a major legal precedent for how copyright laws apply to machine learning infrastructure.

   What is confirmed

   • The Seattle Times and Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft in federal court on Friday.
   • The lawsuit alleges the tech companies used the newspapers' journalism without permission to train AI models.
   • The plaintiffs are news publishers that previously partnered with OpenAI and Microsoft.

   What to watch next

   • Responses and initial legal motions from OpenAI and Microsoft in the federal lawsuit
   • Further judicial rulings on copyright protections regarding artificial intelligence training data
   Sources used for this update (9)

   1. www.newsday.com — Latest updates: Picking up the pieces after tornado strikes Atlantic Beach
   2. www.newsday.com — Trump slams Dems, talks Iran at Long Island rally
   3. www.marketscreener.com — AI could pose 'existential' risk to humanity, UN rights chief warns
   4. www.insurancejournal.com — Seattle Times, Newsday Sue OpenAI, Microsoft, Alleging Copyright Infringement
   5. www.insurancejournal.com — OpenAI Top Scientist Urges ‘Extreme Caution’ With Pace of AI
   6. www.yahoo.com — News publishers that partnered with OpenAI and Microsoft are now suing over AI training
   7. www.insurancejournal.com — Risk & Insurance Education Alliance Opens Enrollment for Certified AI Insurance Credential (CAIC)
   8. digitalmarketreports.com — Seattle Times and Newsday Sue OpenAI and Microsoft Over Alleged Use of Journalism for AI Training
   9. www.insurancejournal.com — Breaking the Mold: The Role of MGA Innovation in Today’s Specialty Market
   confidence 100%
2. 8d ago

   Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright

   The Seattle Times Co. and Newsday LLC filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on September 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The publishers allege the tech companies used their journalism and paywalled articles without permission to train AI systems that can mimic their reporting. While OpenAI cites fair use and Microsoft expressed surprise at the suit, the U.S. government has intervened in a separate New York Times case, arguing that barring AI training on copyrighted material could severely hamper technological progress.

   Why it matters

   This legal action adds to a broader conflict between media organizations and AI developers over intellectual property. The central dispute rests on whether scraping news content for large language model training constitutes fair use or infringement. These cases will likely define the legal boundaries of AI training data.

   What is confirmed

   • The Seattle Times and Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
   • The lawsuit alleges the companies used journalism without permission to train AI systems.
   • The Trump administration is supporting OpenAI in a separate copyright lawsuit filed by the New York Times.
   • The Department of Justice stated that prohibiting AI training on copyrighted material could severely hamper tech progress.

   Still unconfirmed

   • OpenAI's valuation will hit $1.75T by December.
   • Microsoft claims virtually nobody was grabbing New York Times articles through its chatbot.

   What to watch next

   • Court rulings on whether scraping news content constitutes fair use
   • The outcome of the New York Times copyright case following government intervention
   • Court orders or damage awards resulting from the Seattle Times and Newsday suit
   Sources used for this update (20)

   1. Reuters — US government backs OpenAI in New York Times copyright case
   2. AP News — Trump administration backs OpenAI in New York Times' copyright case over training of chatbots
   3. The Verge — Microsoft says virtually nobody was grabbing NYT articles through its chatbot
   4. The New York Times — Court Filings In A.I. Suit Invoke Copyright Law, Culture and Sports
   5. The Seattle Times — The Seattle Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft over copyright infringement
   6. Reuters — Seattle Times, Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement
   7. Reason Magazine — DOJ Says Barring AI Training on Copyrighted Material Could 'Severely Hamper' Tech Progress
   8. The Verge — The Trump administration is supporting OpenAI in the NYT copyright lawsuit
   9. TechCrunch — US government sides with OpenAI on issue of training LLMs on copyrighted material
   10. TechCrunch — Seattle Times and Newsday are the latest publications to sue OpenAI and Microsoft
   11. geekwire.com — Seattle Times sues Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging they trained their AI on its journalism
   12. USA Today — Can AI train on copyrighted work? The government hopes so
   confidence 95%