Seattle Times and Newsday bring AI copyright case against OpenAI and Microsoft
Seattle Times and Newsday file copyright lawsuit
The Seattle Times and Newsday have sued OpenAI and Microsoft over the alleged use of their journalism to train artificial intelligence systems. The complaint argues that the arrival of generative AI could leave the journalism industry “broken beyond repair.”
The publishers describe generative AI as “a snake eating its own tail”, saying it could destroy the organisations whose reporting supplies the material on which the systems are trained. Their action adds two more news organisations to the legal confrontation over copyright and AI development.
Publishers challenge the use of reporting in AI products
In the lawsuit, the companies argue that AI products including ChatGPT and Copilot are presented as content producers but are, in practice, consumers of human-authored material. The filing says those products can deliver copies and derivative imitations of the original work used to support commercial objectives.
The case follows The New York Times’ 2023 lawsuit against OpenAI and its partner and investor Microsoft, which alleged copyright infringement. The broader dispute is also shaped by US support for OpenAI in the NYT dispute and the federal government’s position in the New York Times litigation.
The Seattle Times’ participation is notable because Microsoft and OpenAI have funded some of the publication’s journalism projects and fellowships. That existing relationship has not prevented the publisher from challenging the alleged use of its work in AI training.
Microsoft signals openness to talks
A Microsoft spokesperson told GeekWire that the company was surprised by the lawsuit, while adding that it is always willing to sit down and explore solutions to this kind of dispute. The source article did not provide a response from OpenAI.
The complaint does not resolve the central question of how publishers’ work may be used in AI development, but it makes content provenance and permissions a practical issue for organisations adopting generative tools. Businesses using third-party AI services should therefore clarify their content rights, training terms and vendor responsibilities before placing valuable material into those systems.