“The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging their published journalism was used without permission to train AI models. This adds to a growing wave of media litigation targeting the AI industry's data practices. The cases highlight an unresolved tension between AI companies' need for large training datasets and publishers' intellectual property rights.”
Key Takeaways
- The Seattle Times and Newsday have both filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged unauthorised use of their content.
- The publishers claim their journalism was scraped to train AI models without consent or compensation.
- This follows similar high-profile suits from the New York Times and other outlets against the same defendants.
Two major US newspapers are taking OpenAI and Microsoft to court over AI training data.
trending_upWhy It Matters
As more regional and national publishers join the litigation wave, OpenAI and Microsoft face mounting legal and financial exposure that could fundamentally reshape how AI companies source training data. A ruling against the defendants could force costly licensing agreements or require retraining models on legally cleared data. Publishers that previously lacked the resources to sue may now coordinate or benefit from precedents set by larger cases. Investors and developers should watch whether courts treat AI training as fair use, since the outcome will determine the viability of current large-scale data collection practices across the entire industry.
FAQ
What are the Seattle Times and Newsday actually alleging in their lawsuits?
Both publications allege that OpenAI and Microsoft used their copyrighted journalism without permission or payment to train AI models such as ChatGPT and Copilot. They are seeking damages and, in some cases, restrictions on further use of their content.
How does this fit into the broader wave of media lawsuits against AI companies?
The New York Times filed a landmark lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023, and several other outlets including the Chicago Tribune's parent company have since followed. The Seattle Times and Newsday cases represent a continued escalation by publishers of varying sizes.
Could these lawsuits force OpenAI to change how it trains its models?
If courts rule against OpenAI, the company could be required to license publisher content, delete certain training data, or retrain models — all of which would be expensive and operationally complex. Many legal experts see the fair use question as unsettled, making the outcome genuinely uncertain.
