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Canadian Publishers Launch Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI over ChatGPT Training Practices

Published December 01, 2024
2 months ago

In a significant legal move that could have far-reaching implications for artificial intelligence development, five leading Canadian news publishers have initiated a lawsuit against OpenAI Inc. The lawsuit, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, accuses the AI firm of unlawfully using copyrighted content to train its advanced language model, ChatGPT.





The publishers involved in this legal battle include Torstar Corp., Postmedia Network Canada Corp., Globe and Mail Inc., the Canadian Press, and CBC/Radio-Canada. These organizations claim that a substantial portion of Canadian journalistic content has been used without permission, thereby violating their copyright holdings.


According to the allegations laid out in the lawsuit, OpenAI has been "capitalising and profiting" from the usage of these copyrighted materials in training its AI products such as ChatGPT. This move has reportedly been done without acquiring the necessary permissions or offering adequate compensation to the original content creators.


The legal action seeks unspecified damages, which will be determined during the trial. This lawsuit marks yet another legal challenge for OpenAI, following a similar claim made by the New York Times Co. late last year against OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. The New York Times alleged that their copyrighted articles were also used to train AI systems developed by OpenAI.


In response to these accusations, a spokesperson from OpenAI highlighted that their models are trained on publicly available data, adhering to fair use and international copyright principles. OpenAI mentioned its ongoing efforts to collaborate with news publishers regarding the usage, attribution, and proper linking of their content, including offering options to opt out.


Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, the trade group representing the implicated newspaper publishers, criticized OpenAI's practices. Deegan accused the company of "strip mining journalism," thereby enriching itself unlawfully and unjustly at the expense of the foundational works of journalism.


The outcome of this lawsuit could potentially influence the operational methodologies of AI companies worldwide, particularly how they source and utilize content for training purposes. The case underscores the growing concerns around ethical AI development and the call for more stringent regulations to protect copyrighted materials in the digital age.


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