Indian news firms of Ambani, Adani join proceedings against OpenAI in copyright battle

Digital news units of billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets are joining proceedings against OpenAI for improperly using copyright content. According to legal papers, both the Adani and the Ambani news firms want to join an ongoing lawsuit against the ChatGPT creator as they are worried their news websites are being scraped to store and reproduce their work for users of the powerful AI tool.

Indian media vs AI

Joining them are other Indian news outlets like the Indian Express and Hindustan Times, as well as members of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which includes about 20 outlets such as Dainik Bhaskar, Zee News, India Today Group and The Hindu.

Also Read: Indian Publishers Sue OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Alleged Copyright Infringement

The report noted that the 135-page case filing describes OpenAI’s alleged content collection and use as a “clear and present danger” to the news groups’ copyrights. It accuses the San Francisco-based AI giant of engaging in “willful scraping” and exploiting publishers’ work to attract advertising revenue, while leaving content creators out of any financial benefits.

Notably, The Times of India is not part of the legal challenge despite being a member of the DNPA.

Ongoing legal suit between OpenAI and ANI

The OpenAI copyright battle is nothing new as the matter first drew attention last year when local news agency ANI filed an initial lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led company in connection with AI copyright issues. The new intervention by the Indian media companies is expected to add significant momentum to ANI’s case.

In December 2023, the New York Times sued OpenAI and its largest financial backer, Microsoft, claiming millions of articles were used without permission to train chatbots that provide information to users. 

Also Read: Apple Integrates ChatGPT into iPhone with Latest iOS Update