OpenAI beats copyright infringement lawsuit after complainants failed to allege cognizable injury: “Let us be clear about what is really at stake here. That question is not before the court today.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was onto something about copyright law not prohibiting the training of AI models using copyrighted content.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
What you need to know
Over the past few months, OpenAI and Microsoft have been wrapped up in multiplecopyright infringement lawsuits. Publishers and authors have previously cited instances where AI-powered tools likeOpenAI’s ChatGPT,Microsoft Copilot, and Anthropic’s Claude used copyrighted information without consent, attribution, or compensation. For instance,eight news publishers filed copyright infringement lawsuits against Microsoft and OpenAIearlier this year in May.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arguescopyright law doesn’t categorically prohibit the use of copyrighted content for training AI models. Interestingly, the executive admitteddeveloping ChatGPT-like tools without copyrighted content is virtually impossible.
As it happens, luck seems to be on the ChatGPT maker’s side following New York federal judge Colleen McMahon’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit against the AI firm by Raw Story and AlterNet (viaReuters). The news outlets indicated that OpenAI was misusing copyrighted content published on their sites to train its large language models (LLMs).
The outlets failed to establish enough harm to support their lawsuit before the court, prompting its dismissal. However, the outlets are free to file a new complaint, though the judge was skeptical if they would “allege a cognizable injury” in their new lawsuit.
For context, Raw Story and AlterNet accused OpenAI of scraping copyright management information (CMI) from their articles but didn’t categorically highlight instances of copyright infringement. This prompted the federal judge to dismiss the complaints.
According to New York federal judge Colleen McMahon:
“Let us be clear about what is really at stake here. The alleged injury for which Plaintiffs truly seek redress is not the exclusion of CMI but the use of Plaintiffs' articles to develop ChatGPT without compensation.
Get the Windows Central Newsletter
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
Whether there is another statute or legal theory that does elevate this type of harm remains to be seen. But that question is not before the Court today.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the pending copyright infringement lawsuits against OpenAI pan out, especially after the Raw Story and AlterNet’s lawsuit was dismissed.
🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃
Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.
