The Seattle Times and Newsday filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and microsoft on September 5, alleging the companies used their journalism to train AI models without authorization1,2.
The lawsuit described generative AI as "a snake eating its own tail" that could "destroy the very organizations" producing the content it is trained on. It argued that with the advent of AI, the journalism industry could become "broken beyond repair".
"AI products like ChatGPT and CoPilot are touted as producers of content, but in fact they are rapacious consumers, devouring human-authored content and delivering back to the world copies and derivative imitations of that same original content they consumed to achieve their commercial objectives," the lawsuit stated.
The filing carries an unusual wrinkle: microsoft and OpenAI have funded some of the Seattle Times' journalism projects and fellowships. microsoft was sued by the parent company of its hometown daily newspaper, The Seattle Times Co., which joined with Newsday in the action.
A microsoft spokesperson told GeekWire that the company is "surprised by the lawsuit" but is "always happy to sit down and explore solutions to this type of dispute".
The case follows a pattern that began in 2023 when the New York Times sued OpenAI and microsoft over alleged copyright infringement; other publications have since filed similar suits.
ANALYSIS The Seattle Times' funding relationship with both defendants adds a distinct dimension to this litigation, distinguishing it from prior publisher lawsuits where no such financial ties existed. The fact that a funder-funded relationship did not prevent the suit underscores the depth of the copyright dispute between news publishers and AI companies.