OpenAI can't seem to catch a break as another lawsuit comes its way. This time around, the plaintiffs are also including Microsoft in the lawsuit. This isn't the first time that the pair is on the receiving end of a lawsuit, and it likely won't be the last.
OpenAI and Microsoft Faces Copyright Infringement Claims
OpenAI has been accused of using copyrighted materials without permission time and time again, so this no longer comes as a shock. The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) claims that they are the latest victims of such practices and decided to sue as well.
The nonprofit behind the magazine Mother Jones and podcast Reveal said that both tech companies started "vacuuming up" their stories to make their products more powerful without asking for permission or offering compensation.
"This free rider behavior is not only unfair, it is a violation of copyright. The work of journalists, at CIR and everywhere, is valuable, and OpenAI and Microsoft know it." CIR CEO Monika Bauerlein mentioned, adding that other organizations had the courtesy to license their materials.
The lawyers backing the media nonprofit claim that with OpenAI and Microsoft copying its content, it has "undermined relationships with readers and partners, and deprived it of revenue," as reported by The Verge.
"We are working collaboratively with the news industry and partnering with global news publishers to display their content in our products like ChatGPT, including summaries, quotes, and attribution, to drive traffic back to the original articles," an OpenAI spokesperson said about the CIR lawsuit.
What's worse is that this isn't the first time that the pair has been the defendants in a lawsuit. Back in early January, two nonfiction book authors have also claimed that Microsoft and OpenAI have stolen copyrighted works to build its AI system.
Authors Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage said in the lawsuit that they aim to represent a class of writers whose copyrighted work has been "systematically pilfered" by both companies, also stating that they are "no different than any other thief."
Both authors are seeking damages wherein the defendants have to pay $150,000 for each work that has been infringed, as mentioned in CNBC." Unfortunately, this is not the only case in which OpenAI has been involved.
Other Cases Against OpenAI and Microsoft
One of the more recent lawsuits against OpenAI was that of The New York Times, which has already spent about $1 million on the lawsuit, and it's not the only publication going against the tech giants developing AI systems.
Eight publications are also coming for the accused such as New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune, both of which are under hedge fund Alden Global Capital along with the six other news outlets joining the lawsuit.
OpenAI is already changing its ways as it strikes licensing deals with certain media outlets like The Associated Press, Axel Springer, the Financial Times, Dotdash Meredith, News Corp, Vox Media, Time, and many more. However, it allegedly still uses countless copyrighted works without compensating its creators.
