US Newspapers File Massive Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft Over Content Theft

A coalition of nearly 400 newspapers has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Southern District of New York accusing OpenAI and Microsoft of systematically copying their articles, including material behind paywalls, to train ChatGPT and Copilot without paying any compensation. The complaint alleges violations of copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and seeks damages as well as an injunction to stop the alleged infringement.

The plaintiffs are represented by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. OpenAI has responded that its models are trained on publicly available data and rely on the doctrine of fair use. The case follows earlier actions by major outlets such as The New York Times and CNN, and the newspaper coalition warns that the practice threatens local journalism by diverting traffic and revenue to AI services.