New York Times and Others Sue OpenAI and Microsoft Over Copyright Infringement

The New York Times, along with several other media organizations, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, seeking billions of dollars in damages. The suit, initiated in December 2023, has led to a consolidated litigation involving plaintiffs such as the Daily News group, Ziff Davis, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The joint summary judgment brief filed by the plaintiffs spans 92 pages and highlights significant declines in click-through rates for their content when accessed via Microsoft's Copilot. Specifically, the New York Times experienced a decrease of 87 to 93 percent, while the Daily News group saw a drop of 83 to 91 percent, and Ziff Davis reported a decline of 51 to 94 percent.

Brent Hecht, Microsoft's director of applied science, described the situation as "an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" and argued that it undermines the concept of 'fair use.' He further stated that the current practices make a "complete mockery of the idea of 'fair use.'" OpenAI's head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, labeled the situation an "existential threat" to content creators.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized that "anything that is paywalled should be licensed by anyone who wants to use it," reflecting a growing concern over the ethical implications of AI training practices. OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman noted the effectiveness of their generative models on New York Times content, stating, "we are excellent at news btw. every time i do any generative stuff on NYT it seems to predict the next sentence pretty well."

This follows earlier discussions in May 2025, when the US Copyright Office concluded that fair use cannot be applied broadly to AI training. In 2024, OpenAI announced a tool called "Media Manager" aimed at allowing publishers to opt out of content scraping, but the current lawsuit raises questions about the adequacy of such measures.

The cost to generate one million news-style articles of 500 words each using OpenAI's API is approximately $6,800, further illustrating the economic stakes involved in this legal battle. As the case unfolds, the implications for AI training and content licensing practices could reshape the landscape for both AI developers and content publishers.