OpenAI and Microsoft Sued for Copyright Infringement by Seattle Times and Newsday

Legal filings submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday allege that OpenAI and Microsoft copied articles from the Seattle Times and Newsday without permission. The newspapers claim these companies scoured their websites, including content behind paywalls, to build datasets used for training products such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Bing's AI features. The plaintiffs argued that the resulting technology reproduces specific reporting passages, closely paraphrases articles, and answers user questions in ways that discourage website visits or subscription purchases. Seattle Times President and CEO Alan Fisco told employees they must defend content that costs millions annually to produce. OpenAI indicated its models rely on publicly available data under fair use principles. A Microsoft spokesperson expressed surprise at the legal action but emphasized a willingness to discuss solutions. The case remains in federal court pending further developments.