Nearly 400 local newspapers sue OpenAI and Microsoft for training AI on their articles

Nearly 400 local newspaper publishers, representing the largest coalition of regional papers ever assembled, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft alleging the tech giants systematically stole millions of copyrighted news articles without permission or payment to train AI models like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. The publishers claim this unauthorized scraping and use of their journalism violates the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as OpenAI reportedly removed copyright management information such as author credits and notices while reproducing or repurposing local reporting without directing users back to the publishers' websites for ad or subscription revenue. This legal action, which amplifies earlier copyright challenges by major outlets like The New York Times, marks a critical moment for local media as it seeks to hold AI companies accountable for depriving hundreds of community newspapers of potential revenue and undermining their ability to monetize original reporting. The lawsuit demands full accountability for past, present, and ongoing violations, highlighting escalating tensions between the news industry and technology firms over the unauthorized use of copyrighted content in artificial intelligence.