OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, has in recent weeks been hit with lawsuits from comedian Sarah Silverman, U.S. novelists, and others alleging copyright infringement. Now, the New York Times is weighing possible legal action.
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The New York Times and OpenAI could end up in court.
Lawyers for the newspaper are exploring whether to sue OpenAI to protect the intellectual property rights associated with its reporting, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
For weeks, The Times and the maker of ChatGPT have been locked in tense negotiations over reaching a licensing deal in which OpenAI would pay The Times for incorporating its stories in the tech company’s AI tools, but the discussions have become so contentious that the paper is now considering legal action. The individuals who confirmed the potential lawsuit requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
A lawsuit from The Times against OpenAI would set up what could be the most high-profile legal tussle yet over copyright protection in the age of generative AI.
A top concern for The Times is that ChatGPT is, in a sense, becoming a direct competitor with the paper by creating text that answers questions based on the original reporting and writing of the paper’s staff.
If, when someone searches online, they are served a paragraph-long answer from an AI tool that relies on reporting from The Times, the need to visit the publisher’s site is greatly diminished, said one person involved in the talks.
If an entity is found to have infringed on a copyright, federal law allows for the infringing articles to be destroyed at the end of the case.
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