Hundreds of newspapers file suit against openAI, microsoft

Nearly 400 local and regional newspapers have filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the companies unlawfully used copyrighted news articles to train artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot without permission or compensation.

The publishers, represented by Platkin LLP, a law firm founded by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, claim the companies systematically copied decades of original reporting produced by community newspapers in violation of federal copyright law.

The lawsuit also alleges OpenAI violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by removing copyright management information from articles, including author bylines, copyright notices and terms of use, before using the material to train its AI models.

“This lawsuit is not about stopping AI innovation,” Platkin said. “It is about ensuring that innovation happens fairly and within the bounds of the law.”

According to the complaint, local newspapers invest significant resources into covering city councils, school boards, courts, public safety and other community institutions. The publishers argue that OpenAI and Microsoft have built highly profitable AI products by using that reporting without compensating the organizations that produced it.

“AI systems do not attend city council meetings, investigate corruption, cover local crime or report on community events,” Platkin said. “Local reporters do.”

The lawsuit argues that allowing AI companies to monetize original reporting without permission threatens the financial viability of local journalism at a time when many community newspapers are already facing economic challenges.

The publishers are seeking damages and other relief under the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The case also asks the court to determine whether OpenAI’s use of copyrighted news content to train commercial AI models violates federal law.

While major national news organizations and authors have previously filed similar lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, this action is one of the largest coordinated legal challenges brought by local and regional newspapers.