OpenAI asserts the NY Times copyright lawsuit lacks merit

In late December, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its investor Microsoft, accusing them of copyright infringement by including the publication’s content in their AI model’s training data. OpenAI has responded, claiming the use of publicly available data falls under fair use, emphasizing the need for such practices for innovation and U.S. competitiveness. OpenAI also discussed the issue of ‘regurgitation,’ where AI models may output identical or similar content to their training data, arguing that it’s less likely when data comes from a single source and suggesting that users bear responsibility for avoiding such prompts. As the debate intensifies, with critics and other lawsuits questioning OpenAI’s stance, some news outlets have chosen to license their content to AI companies, although compensation offered is perceived as modest. Public opinion, however, appears supportive of publishers, favoring compensation for the use of their content in AI model training.