A news publishing industry group in India has filed to join an ongoing legal action against OpenAI over the alleged improper use of copyrighted content, adding to legal controversies with the Silicon Valley start-up.

The intervention was filed by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) along with some of its members, including the Indian Express, Hindustan Times and NDTV, according to local media reports.

The Times of India is not part of the action in spite of being a DNPA member, Reuters reported the filing as saying.

The filing reportedly provided no further details on why the Times of India was not taking part.

OpenAI logo displayed on a smartphone. Artificial intelligence, AI, ChatGPT
Image credit: Levart Photographer/Unsplash

Copyright question

The filing is part of a case filed against OpenAI by news agency ANI last year accusing the tech firm of using Indian copyrighted content to train its AI models.

The DNPA alleged OpenAI was using copyrighted works published by its members without permission.

This “unlawful utilisation of copyrighted materials exclusively benefits OpenAI and its investors, to the detriment of the creative works across the entire industry in India”, the DNPA said in a statement.

The association said OpenAI’s actions presented a threat to press transparency in India, potentially augmenting misinformation.

“AI models are supercharging online misinformation,” the association said.

“The DNPA is deeply concerned that this trend will negatively affect the quality, reliability, and diversity of news content in India.”

AI companies such as OpenAI have struck agreements with media organisations outside of India, said Indian Express Group executive director Anant Goenka in a statement.

“The larger question remains as to why AI companies are discriminating against India,” he said.

The Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) also filed a similar intervention to join the legal action.

‘Fair use’

OpenAI in a statement reiterated that it supports news organisations and is engaged in “constructive partnerships and conversations with many news organisations around the world, including India” to explore opportunities.

It reiterated its claim that it trains its AI models using publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use.

The company previously said that to remove training data for its ChatGPT chatbot would be inconsistent with its legal obligations in the US.

In December 2023 the firm and Microsoft were sued by the New York Times over the alleged use of copyrighted content.

The news agency said OpenAI’s and Microsoft’s AI models “can generate output that recites Times content verbatim, closely summarises it, and mimics its expressive style,” which “undermine[s] and damage[s]” the Times’ relationship with readers, while depriving it of “subscription, licensing, advertising, and affiliate revenue”.

Matthew Broersma

Matt Broersma is a long standing tech freelance, who has worked for Ziff-Davis, ZDnet and other leading publications

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