A group of major Canadian news outlets is suing OpenAI, claiming the company uses their articles without permission. The lawsuit, reportedly the first of its kind in Canada, includes major organizations like the Toronto Star, Metroland Media, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, CBC, and The Canadian Press.
The news outlets argue that OpenAI uses their content to train its artificial intelligence model, ChatGPT, for commercial gain. The media companies believe this practice is illegal and infringes on their copyright.
Allegations of Copyright Breach and Financial Demands
OpenAI claims it trains its models using publicly available data, adhering to fair use principles. The company states it works with publishers to ensure proper attribution and offers ways for them to opt out. However, the Canadian news coalition argues that OpenAI bypasses paywalls and copyright protections, illegally scraping content from their websites.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages of C$20,000 per article, potentially adding up to billions of dollars. The group also demands a share of OpenAI’s profits from using their articles, along with an injunction to prevent future use.
This lawsuit follows similar actions in the U.S., with publishers like the New York Times also taking legal action against OpenAI. Additionally, authors, including John Grisham, have accused the company of copyright infringement.
