Major Canadian news outlets sue OpenAI

A coalition of major Canadian news outlets is suing OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT AI chatbot, accusing the company of using their news articles without permission to train its software.

The lawsuit, which is the first of its kind in Canada, involves prominent media organizations such as the Toronto Star, Metroland Media, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

The news outlets argue that journalism serves the public interest and that OpenAI is unlawfully using their content for commercial gain, which they claim is illegal. They assert that OpenAI has been scraping large amounts of content from Canadian media, bypassing protections like paywalls and copyright disclaimers designed to prevent unauthorized use.

In response, OpenAI maintains that its models are trained using publicly available data, adhering to "fair use" principles and international copyright laws. The company also points out that it works closely with news publishers, offering them the option to opt out and ensuring proper attribution and links to their content in ChatGPT's responses.

The Canadian news organizations are seeking punitive damages of C$20,000 ($14,300; £11,000) for each article they believe was used without consent, potentially resulting in billions of dollars in compensation. Additionally, they are requesting that OpenAI share any profits made from using their content and that the company be prohibited from using their articles in the future.

This lawsuit mirrors a similar legal battle in the United States, where publishers like The New York Times have also taken legal action against OpenAI, accusing it of copyright infringement. In a related development, OpenAI is also facing claims from the Authors Guild and several prominent writers, including John Grisham, over the use of their works to train AI models.

Recently, OpenAI was valued at C$219 billion following its latest round of investor funding, according to the reports.

By Vafa Guliyeva