NEW DELHI: News agency Asian News International (ANI) has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI accusing it of publishing its content for training its AI chatbot– ChatGPT. ANI has also accused OpenAI of attributing fabricated news stories to the publication. However, OpenAI has said that it has stopped using ANI content for ChatGPT’s training.
The news agency has joined the list of global news organizations including The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune which have sued OpenAI in the past.
In its filing, ANI also alleged that OpenAI “refused to obtain a lawful license or permission” to use its original works while it has entered into licensing agreements with news organizations like The Financial Times and The Associated Press for the use of their copyrighted content.
Meanwhile, the judge directed OpenAI to submit a detailed response to ANI’s allegations during the first hearing at the Delhi high court on Tuesday.
The court filing included emails from OpenAI’s lawyers in India to ANI, claiming that its website had been part of an internal block list since September, halting the use of its content in future AI model training.
However, ANI argued that its published works are permanently stored in the memory of ChatGPT since there is no programmed deletion.
“We build our AI models using publicly available data, in a manner protected by fair use and related principles, and supported by long-standing and widely accepted legal precedents,” said OpenAI spokesperson in response to the lawsuit.
OpenAI further said that it is collaborating with numerous news organizations globally and is in discussions to explore additional partnership opportunities, including partnerships in India.
OpenAI and other tech companies have been facing a series of lawsuits from authors, visual artists, music publishers, and other copyright holders, accusing them of using their work without permission, though OpenAI has denied any allegations of copyright infringement.
The next court hearing is set for January 28.