New York Times seeks sanctions against OpenAI in AI copyright dispute

The New York Times and a coalition of other media companies are urging a federal judge to impose sanctions on OpenAI, escalating a legal battle over artificial intelligence and copyright that could significantly impact the future of the news industry.

The publishers allege that the maker of ChatGPT is withholding crucial evidence related to a potential landmark copyright infringement trial. The core of the dispute centers on claims that OpenAI and its partner Microsoft built their AI technologies by using millions of news articles without proper authorization. The case examines whether AI chatbots are unfairly competing as information sources, diverting web traffic without undertaking the journalistic work of news gathering.

A filing with a Manhattan federal court on Thursday accused OpenAI of "choosing obstruction" over releasing datasets and ChatGPT logs. Plaintiffs contend these records could reveal how the AI system utilized copyrighted news content. They are requesting that the judge penalize OpenAI for alleged "discovery misconduct" that could compromise evidence, citing a recent deposition of an OpenAI employee that they claim contradicts the company's prior statements.

Steven Lieberman, an attorney for the New York Daily News, stated that OpenAI has for two years been "making misrepresentations" regarding its capacity to search for copyrighted material within its AI training datasets and logs. He asserted that this filing seeks to penalize OpenAI for "hiding and destroying evidence showing how ChatGPT was trained on stolen journalism."

OpenAI has previously stated that limitations in sharing ChatGPT logs are necessary to protect user privacy. A company spokesperson, Drew Pusateri, issued a statement Thursday saying, "As the Times' case weakens and they’ve been forced to drop claims against us, they’re persisting with their efforts to invade the privacy of people who have nothing to do with this case, including by making these blatantly false allegations." The company added, "We'll continue defending our users' privacy and the long-established principles of fair use."

The New York Times initially filed its lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft in late 2023, just under a year after ChatGPT's launch ignited a boom in commercial AI and began altering how people search for information online.