OpenAI beats copyright infringement lawsuit after complainants failed to allege cognizable injury: “Let us be clear about what is really at stake here. That question is not before the court today.”

OpenAI beats copyright infringement lawsuit after complainants failed to allege cognizable injury: "Let us be clear about what is really at stake here. That question is not before the court today."

What you need to know

  • A New York federal judge recently dismissed a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against OpenAI by news outlets, including Raw Story and AlterNet.
  • The judge indicated that the outlets failed to show where the AI firm categorically scraped their content and used it to train ChatGPT without consent and compensation.
  • The news outlets can file a new lawsuit, though the judge was skeptical whether they would “allege a cognizable injury.”

As a seasoned tech enthusiast with over two decades of experience under my belt, I’ve witnessed the rapid evolution of AI and its potential implications on various industries, including media. The recent dismissal of the copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI by Raw Story and AlterNet has sparked my curiosity and concern in equal measures.


Over the last few months, I’ve been closely following the ongoing legal battles between tech giants like OpenAI and Microsoft. Content creators, including authors and publishers, have pointed out instances where AI tools such as ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Copilot (Microsoft), and Claude (Anthropic) have utilized copyrighted materials without proper consent, acknowledgement, or remuneration. To give you an example, eight news publishers lodged a copyright infringement lawsuit against both Microsoft and OpenAI back in May this year.

According to Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, current copyright laws don’t universally prevent the application of copyrighted material in teaching AI systems how to generate responses. It’s worth noting that Mr. Altman acknowledged that creating ChatGPT-style tools without utilizing copyrighted content is extremely challenging or perhaps impractical.

It turns out that things are going well for ChatGPT’s creators, as Judge Colleen McMahon of New York has decided to throw out a lawsuit filed against the AI company by Raw Story and AlterNet. The media outlets alleged that OpenAI had been using copyrighted material from their sites to educate its large language models without permission. (This information comes from Reuters.)

In simpler terms, the lawsuits brought forth by these outlets couldn’t provide enough proof of harm, which led the court to dismiss them. Yet, these outlets are allowed to file a fresh complaint. However, the judge expressed doubts whether they would be able to present a valid claim or injury in their future lawsuit.

Initially, Raw Story and AlterNet claimed that OpenAI had taken copyright management details from their articles without specifying specific instances of copyright violation. As a result, these claims were dismissed by a federal judge due to lack of concrete evidence of copyright infringement.

According to New York federal judge Colleen McMahon:

To make things crystal clear, it’s essential to understand the core issue. Plaintiffs aren’t just concerned about CMI being excluded; they are primarily interested in fair compensation for using their articles in the creation of ChatGPT without prior remuneration.

It’s uncertain if another law or argument could raise this kind of damage to a higher level, as it depends on other circumstances. However, that matter isn’t what we’re discussing in this case right now.

Watching as the ongoing copyright infringement lawsuits against OpenAI unfold is intriguing, particularly since a previous suit filed by Raw Story and AlterNet was thrown out.

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2024-11-08 17:39