OpenAI Faces Copyright Lawsuit From Indian News Publishers
OpenAI, the US-based artificial intelligence firm, is facing legal action from leading digital news publishers in India over alleged copyright infringement.
Around 20 media organizations, including The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, NDTV (owned by Gautam Adani), and the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA)—which represents major outlets like Mukesh Ambani’s Network18, Dainik Bhaskar, Zee News, the India Today Group, and The Hindu—have filed a lawsuit in a New Delhi court.
The publishers claim that OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been unlawfully trained using their online content, violating intellectual property rights. According to The Indian Express, Reuters first reported the case, which is part of a broader wave of legal challenges against OpenAI in India, including suits by ANI and several book publishers.
The 135-page lawsuit, reviewed by Reuters but not publicly disclosed, warns that OpenAI’s content-scraping practices pose a “clear and present danger” to DNPA members’ copyrights. While The Times of India, a DNPA member, has not joined the case, similar legal battles are unfolding worldwide, with news outlets, authors, and musicians challenging OpenAI’s use of copyrighted material.
In the US, The New York Times has sued OpenAI, alleging that its chatbot diverts traffic from news sites by using copyrighted articles without permission, thereby impacting advertising and subscription revenue.
Media groups argue that OpenAI’s profit-driven approach threatens journalism by leveraging news content without compensation. While OpenAI has yet to respond to the latest lawsuit, it has previously stated that its AI models make fair use of publicly available data.
