Legal battle between Indian media giants and OpenAI over copyright | OpenAI API | ChatGPT OpenAI | OpenAI italiano | Turtles AI
Major Indian news outlets, including NDTV and Network18, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi court, accusing it of using copyrighted content without permission. The case raises important questions about the relationship between AI and copyright.
Key points:
- Several Indian media outlets accuse OpenAI of copyright infringement.
- The lawsuit was filed by NDTV, Network18, Indian Express, and Hindustan Times.
- The media outlets fear that scraping their content is a copyright risk.
- The dispute is part of a global backdrop of similar lawsuits against AI.
A group of prominent Indian publishers, including the digital units of Gautam Adani’s NDTV, Mukesh Ambani’s Network18, and other major newspapers such as the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, filed a legal complaint against OpenAI in the New Delhi court. The allegation centers on the unauthorized use of copyrighted content, raising concerns about potential risks associated with the management of their digital assets. According to the more than 130-page file filed in court, OpenAI is allegedly responsible for “willful scraping and adaptation” of materials published by these newspapers, conduct that would pose a serious threat to copyrights. The complaint, which is part of a broader battle against AI technologies, was initially initiated by the agency ANI in 2022 and has now expanded to include new publishers, including members of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), a consortium that includes some 20 media companies. The list also includes giants such as Dainik Bhaskar and publishing groups with interests in both print and broadcast media, although the Times of India, despite its membership in the DNPA, has not joined the lawsuit.
The dispute is part of a global litigation landscape in which authors, musicians and news organizations are seeking legal protection against the use of their content by AI technologies. The main issue concerns how AI systems, such as ChatGPT, are trained using data available online, which often includes copyrighted works. OpenAI has previously dismissed similar allegations, saying that its approach complies with existing regulations on the fair use of public data. However, no official statement has been released on the recent allegations by Indian publishers. Similarly, the media companies involved did not provide comment in response to Reuters’ requests for clarification.
The lawsuit represents an important chapter in the regulation of interactions between AI platforms and original content holders, a challenge that is bound to shape the future of the global digital ecosystem.