Most recently, the OpenAI and The New York Times lawsuit that first happened in December 2023 has once again managed to capture the wide audience’s attention. This lawsuit update seems to be a counterattack from OpenAI toward The New York Times, claiming that The New York Times utilised “Misleading cues” to prompt ChatGPT to reproduce their own material. It appears to be a surprising turn of events within the ongoing legal battle, highlighting the complex dynamics surrounding intellectual property rights and the evolving role of AI in content creation.
What’s This Lawsuit Update About?
Just on Monday, February 26th, the OpenAI and The New York Times lawsuit got a brand new update — OpenAI submitted a motion to the Federal Court in Manhattan, asserting that The New York Times employed “Deceptive prompts” to prompt ChatGPT to reproduce their content. Citing this and other factors, the company is seeking the dismissal of several claims in The New York Times’ copyright infringement lawsuit, requesting action from the U.S. District Court in southern New York.
Details on OpenAI’s Claims
In a reverse turn of the OpenAI and The New York Times lawsuit, OpenAI claimed that New York Times took advantage of a glitch, which OpenAI are actively addressing, and directly fed articles to the chatbot to extract verbatim excerpts.
The company argues that such usage goes against typical user behaviour, referencing a New York Times article from April 2023 titled “35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now”. These assertions echo the points made by OpenAI in their previous public statement issued in January, in which you can also discover details and discussions on the lawsuit’s updates in this article.
How Did New York Times Respond on OpenAI’s Latest Claim?
According to The Verge, Lead counsel Ian Crosby of The New York Times clarified to them via email that labelling the outlet’s actions as a hack misrepresents the situation, stating that they were “Merely using OpenAI’s products to search for evidence of stolen and replicated copyrighted works from The Times”. He further noted that OpenAI do not contest “The unauthorised reproduction of New York Times materials within the statute of limitations”.
Crosby added, “What OpenAI bizarrely mischaracterises as ‘Hacking’ is simply using OpenAI’s products to look for evidence that they stole and reproduced The Times’s copyrighted works. And that is exactly what we found. In fact, the scale of OpenAI’s copying is much larger than the 100-plus examples set forth in the complaint.”
Recall of This OpenAI and The New York Times Lawsuit Timeline
The lawsuit between OpenAI and The New York Times has seen several developments over time. Here’s a timeline to help you better understand the sequence of events:
December 2023: Lawsuit Established
@mr.paidsocial ‼️NEW YORK TIMES SUES OPEN AI‼️ 📰 The New York Times has filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, citing the use of its articles to train AI technologies like ChatGPT. This case could reshape the legal landscape of AI and content creation. Key Points: 🔹 The Times alleges millions of its articles were used without permission. 🔹 Seeks accountability for "billions in damages" and destruction of AI models using its content. 🔹 Challenges arise in defining AI's role in using existing online content. Implications: 🌐 This lawsuit highlights the evolving challenges between AI technology and intellectual property rights. 🤖 The outcome could set precedents for how AI can legally use existing content. 💡 It raises critical questions about the balance between innovation and copyright. What's your take on this landmark case? How do you think it will influence the future of AI and content creation? #ai #aicopyright #openai #microsoft #chatgpt #newyorktimes ♬ original sound – Caleb | Ads | Ai | Automation
In December, New York Times initiated a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies trained their AI models using their content, enabling OpenAI and Microsoft chatbots to replicate the stories word for word. The lawsuit contends that this practice diminishes the publication’s revenue and undermines their rapport with their audience.
January 2024: OpenAI’s Resistance
OpenAI seek to partially dismiss New York Times’ claim of direct copyright infringement “In cases where it stems from reproduction acts occurring more than three years prior to this action”. Additionally, they request the court to dismiss other accusations, including claims of OpenAI’s contribution to infringement, failure to remove infringing content, and involvement in unfair competition through misappropriation. The lawsuit from New York Times also includes allegations of trademark dilution, common law unfair competition through misappropriation, and a claim of vicarious copyright infringement.
You Might Be Interested: Banning the Rise of AI-Generated Fakes: Cutting-Edge Camera Tech Aims to Authenticate Photos and Gain Trust
February 2024: OpenAI’s Filing to the Court
OpenAI filed a suit that The New York Times employed “Misleading cues” to induce ChatGPT into replicating their own content.
OpenAI’s Future Plans and Actions
Based on this OpenAI and The New York Times lawsuit, while the exclusion of a single publisher may not significantly impact ChatGPT’s functionality, OpenAI’s submission implies that if multiple publishers choose to opt out, it could have an impact. Over the past few months, the company has been actively seeking the cooperation of publishers to use their content for training data.
The company has already secured agreements with Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Business Insider, Morning Brew, and other publications, and is reportedly in negotiations with CNN, Fox Corp., and Time to obtain licences for their content.
“We expect our ongoing discussions with other parties to result in further partnerships soon,” OpenAI stated in the submission.
In both the submission and their blog posts, OpenAI have emphasised their opt-out process for publishers, which enables outlets to prevent the company’s web crawler from accessing their websites. However, OpenAI argue that this content is crucial for training contemporary AI models, in which you can learn more about AI model training from Singapore’s AI training.
“While we are committed to developing additional mechanisms for rightsholders to opt out of training, we are actively collaborating with them to establish mutually beneficial agreements to access materials that would otherwise be inaccessible, and also to present content in ways that extend beyond the limitations of copyright law,” the company stated.