A New York federal judge has dismissed a copyright lawsuit brought against OpenAI by news outlets Raw Story and AlterNet, which alleged that the AI company improperly used their articles to train its language models, including ChatGPT.
Judge Skeptical of Plaintiffs’ Claims
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate sufficient harm to support their claims but allowed them the opportunity to file an amended complaint. Despite this, Judge McMahon expressed doubt about whether the news outlets could present a valid claim, noting that she was “skeptical” they would be able to “allege a cognizable injury.”
Raw Story, which acquired AlterNet in 2018, filed the lawsuit in February, asserting that OpenAI had used thousands of their articles without permission to train its AI models. The lawsuit argued that the models could reproduce content from these articles upon user prompts, effectively using copyrighted material without authorization.
OpenAI’s Defense: Fair Use and Legal Precedent
An OpenAI spokesperson responded to the ruling, stating, “We build our AI models using publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use and related principles, supported by long-standing legal precedents.” The company has maintained that its data sourcing practices comply with existing copyright laws.
Attorney Matt Topic of Loevy + Loevy, representing Raw Story, expressed confidence in their ability to address the issues identified by the court in a revised complaint.
Broader Context: A Wave of Copyright Lawsuits Against AI Companies
This case is part of a growing trend of legal challenges against AI companies, as authors, artists, and media organizations seek to protect their copyrighted content from being used to train generative AI systems. The lawsuit from Raw Story and AlterNet is notable for its unique legal approach, accusing OpenAI of unlawfully stripping articles of their copyright management information (CMI). Unlike other lawsuits, it did not directly claim copyright infringement.
Judge McMahon sided with OpenAI, agreeing that the complaint should be dismissed, clarifying that the real issue at hand was the use of the plaintiffs’ content without compensation rather than the removal of CMI.
Uncertain Legal Path Ahead
Judge McMahon noted that the plaintiffs had not presented a type of harm recognized under current legal standards, but left open the possibility that another legal theory might support their claims in the future. “Whether there is another statute or legal theory that does elevate this type of harm remains to be seen,” she stated. “But that question is not before the Court today.”
Case Information
The lawsuit, titled Raw Story Media v. OpenAI Inc., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 1:24-cv-01514.
With the dismissal, the plaintiffs now face the decision of whether to amend their complaint or explore other legal avenues, as the broader debate over copyright and AI continues to unfold in courts across the United States.