The Seattle Times and Newsday are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, alleging that the companies used their journalism as training data for AI models without permission. The lawsuits also claim that the AI models sometimes reproduce passages from their reporting in response to user queries.
This action follows similar lawsuits filed by The New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, and Encyclopedia Britannica against OpenAI.
The Seattle Times and Newsday have also named Microsoft as a defendant, as its Copilot product is built on OpenAI's technology. They join nearly 400 local newspapers that have recently sued the two companies, arguing that the chatbots reduce the need for users to visit their websites for news and information, thereby impacting subscription revenue.
In their suit, The Seattle Times and Newsday are seeking the destruction of any copies of their works held by OpenAI and Microsoft, as well as any training datasets and AI models that incorporate their content. OpenAI and Microsoft have not yet responded to requests for comment.
