Nicholas A Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, who previously wrote for the New York Times, said that OpenAI and Microsoft “threaten the very existence of writers because the defendants copied the plaintiffs’ work to build a massive advertising marketplace that is now worth billions of dollars, without their permission or payment.”
Illustration: CMU
The lawsuit by the two journalists – which is expected to be the start of a class action campaign – adds that, given the investment raised and current valuations of companies like OpenAI, it is “absurd” to suggest that obtaining a license from copyright holders to train AI models would be “cost prohibitive” and therefore “prevent the growth of this nascent industry”.
They added that the AI company could have entered into profit-sharing licensing agreements to reduce its upfront costs, “but instead, the defendants decided to steal. They were no different than any other thief.”
Copyright industries, including the music, literature, and film industries, insist that AI companies seek permission from copyright owners before using existing content to train AI models.
However, most AI companies argue that using such content is “legal” under US law, meaning permission is not required. There are currently numerous lawsuits working their way through US courts to test that argument.
In its lawsuit against OpenAI, filed late last month, the New York Times stated: “Independent journalism is vital to our democracy. Since our nation’s founding, strong copyright protections have enabled those who seek and publish news to secure the fruits of their labor and investment… Yet defendants have refused to recognize these protections.”
In a recent blog post, prominent intellectual property lawyer Kate Downing said that the NYT’s case against OpenAI seemed particularly strong. “The complaint includes numerous, extremely clear examples of OpenAI’s models reproducing The Times’ content almost verbatim,” she noted. “The Times convincingly argues that its content is extremely valuable for training AI,” she continued.
The NYT lawsuit also highlights how “journalists go to great lengths to produce their stories, taking great physical risks for the value of high-quality journalism… The Times’s struggle shows that journalism in general is struggling to adapt to the online world,” she added.
Hoang Hai (according to NYT, CMU)
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