Indian news agency sues OpenAI for content copyright violation, seeks $236,910 damages 

Asian News International (ANI), one of India’s largest news agencies, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging unauthorized use and storage of its copyrighted content to train the company’s Large Language Models (LLMs).

According to a report by Bloomberg, the case was presented in the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.

Represented by lawyer Sidhant Kumar, ANI is seeking initial damages of 20 million rupees ($236,910).

The agency also claims OpenAI used its data to enhance the training of its LLMs.

OpenAI’s Defense 

OpenAI’s lawyer, Amit Sibal, argued that the lawsuit lacks jurisdiction since OpenAI does not operate servers or conduct model training in India.

He also informed the court that ANI’s content is currently blocked on OpenAI’s platform, asserting that this undermines ANI’s claims.

• Sibal further disclosed that OpenAI is facing similar lawsuits in other jurisdictions, including 13 cases in the United States and one in Germany. However, he clarified that no injunctions have been issued against OpenAI globally.

• The Delhi High Court admitted the case, emphasizing the complexities surrounding LLM training and intellectual property.

• The court acknowledged the need for expert assistance in addressing the issues and scheduled the next hearing for January 28, 2024.

This lawsuit marks the first of its kind against OpenAI in India, highlighting the increasing scrutiny of artificial intelligence technologies and their compliance with copyright laws.

The outcome of this case could have broader implications for how AI companies handle copyrighted content globally, particularly in jurisdictions with diverse legal frameworks.

What you should know 

The case in India adds to the growing number of legal challenges OpenAI faces worldwide, as concerns mount over the ethical and legal implications of training AI models using copyrighted material.

Nairametrics had earlier reported that the New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for unauthorized use of its published works to train their artificial intelligence tool, ChatGPT.

• The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, on December 27, 2023, contends that millions of articles published by The Times were used to train automated chatbots that now compete with the news outlet as a source of reliable information.

• The suit does not include an exact monetary demand. But it says the defendants should be held responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” related to the “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works.”

• It also calls for the companies to destroy any chatbot models and training data that use copyrighted material from The Times.

In the complaints, the publishing company raised concerns about the uncompensated use of intellectual property by AI systems and accused OpenAI and Microsoft of using its content without payment to create products that substitute for it and even take its audience away.