Canadian news media, including the Toronto Star, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Globe and Mail, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI. The lawsuit states that OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, has engaged in copyright infringement and exploited other parties’ intellectual property without their consent. It sued OpenAI for damages and asked the court to prevent OpenAI from further using intellectual property.
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Media companies claim that OpenAI used content from their websites to train AI models without authorization. They emphasize that such work involves much time, effort, and investment by journalists, editors, and other staff. According to the lawsuit, OpenAI “misappropriated” their intellectual property for commercial gain without offering compensation or obtaining consent.
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This lawsuit is one of the many copyright lawsuits against OpenAI, including lawsuits filed by The New York Times, New York Daily News, YouTube creators, and authors like Sarah Silverman. Although OpenAI has entered into licensing agreements with some publishers, such as The Associated Press and Axel Springer, the Canadian plaintiffs said they were not compensated for using their work.
OpenAI has justified its practices, claiming that its AI models are trained on publicly available data and abide by fair use and global copyright principles.
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According to a company spokesperson, ChatGPT has helped millions create and solve complex problems and improve daily life. OpenAI has also partnered with publishers, offering tools for content attribution and opt-out options for those who wish to exclude their material.
This lawsuit follows a Columbia University Tow Center for Digital Journalism study that revealed ChatGPT often misrepresents content from publishers without regard for whether they have any formal relationship with OpenAI.
