The Copyright Battle Between the Publishing Industry and AI Giants
Recently, two giants of the publishing world—Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster—filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, taking tech giant OpenAI to court. The plaintiffs allege that OpenAI, without obtaining authorization, has scraped and utilized their expert-curated copyrighted content on a massive scale to train its artificial intelligence models, thereby building an AI empire valued at $730 billion.
A Vicious Cycle of 'Cannibalizing' Traffic and Revenue
In the court filing, the plaintiffs explicitly point out that ChatGPT's operational model is "cannibalizing" the traffic and advertising revenue upon which publishers rely for survival. Unlike traditional search engines that direct users to publisher websites via links, ChatGPT directly absorbs and synthesizes publisher content, providing users with "ready-made answers." This practice not only deprives websites of traffic but also leads to a significant decline in the publishers' revenue-generating capacity.
The plaintiffs fear that this model will trigger a negative feedback loop: a decline in advertising and subscription revenue will force publishers to cut content creation budgets, leading to a decrease in content quality, which ultimately results in further traffic loss. This vicious cycle could prove devastating for intellectual property holders.
Legal Counterattack After Refusal of Authorization
According to the complaint, as early as November 2024, the plaintiffs attempted to negotiate a potential licensing agreement with OpenAI, but were rebuffed. In this lawsuit, the plaintiffs are not only seeking damages for the "illicit profits" OpenAI gained through infringement but are also accusing the company of false attribution under the Lanham Act—specifically, when ChatGPT hallucinates or fabricates content, it sometimes incorrectly attributes the information to these authoritative publishing institutions.
The plaintiffs are currently seeking a permanent injunction from the court to prevent OpenAI from continuing to use their copyrighted materials.
The Controversy Over Plagiarism and 'Content Curation'
The lawsuit cites several specific cases, pointing directly to instances of "plagiarism" by ChatGPT. For example, when a user asks ChatGPT to define the word "plagiarize," the answer provided by the model is identical to Merriam-Webster's copyrighted definition. Furthermore, in queries regarding historical events (such as the duel between Hamilton and Burr), ChatGPT is accused of directly copying the unique selection of viewpoints and the arrangement of quotes from Encyclopedia Britannica articles.
OpenAI's Defense
In response to the allegations, an OpenAI spokesperson stated that its AI models are designed to enhance human creativity, advance scientific and medical research, and provide convenience for the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people. OpenAI emphasized that its model training is based on "publicly available data" and adheres to the principle of "fair use," which it considers a necessary means to drive technological innovation.
This lawsuit is a microcosm of the copyright storm facing the AI industry in recent years. Previously, various entities, including authors and news organizations, have filed lawsuits against AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity. As the legal community increasingly focuses on defining "what constitutes public knowledge" and the "boundaries of AI training," this battle over intellectual property and the future of artificial intelligence may become a critical turning point that determines the industry's landscape.