Indian Publishers Join Copyright Battle Against OpenAI, Raising Global AI Training Concerns

Federation of Indian Publishers joins copyright case against OpenAI

The Federation of Indian Publishers has approached the Delhi High Court, filing an intervention application to join the ongoing case filed against OpenAI by the Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI). It seeks impleadment under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which allows interested entities to join as parties in legal proceedings. The Federation has stated in an application reviewed by MediaNama, that it is one of the oldest and most prominent national representative bodies of the Indian publishing industry, with a "real and substantial interest in the legal questions raised in the case." It has emphasized that its members "stand to be directly affected by the orders passed by the court in the matter" and has sought an opportunity to present its views on the issues at hand. The Federation added that it constitutes a substantial class of entities and individuals who own copyright in a significant number of literary works. Previously, the court had stated that the OpenAI vs ANI suit "raises novel legal issues arising on account of recent technological advancements." Some key issues in focus were: The Federation of Indian Publishers includes both Indian and international publishing houses, such as Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Jaico Publishing House, Oxford University Press, Penguin Random House, Rupa Publications, Sage Publications, and S Chand and Company. Talking about the dependency of AI models on the creativity of published authors, Pranav Gupta, the Federation's General Secretary stated, "Generative AI companies depend on original, researched works by authors and publishers to fuel and train their tools and products thereby exploiting the creative works authored by academicians and intellectuals both in individual capacity as well as on an industry level without seeking permission or acknowledgement and offering zero compensation. This is unacceptable." Importantly, the Federation also stated that it denounces the proliferation of pirate sites. Gupta stressed that these sites, containing illegal content, should not be used for AI training or to generate profits. "These [original] works are the lifeblood of our literary tradition and play an important role in making India a knowledge economy and are therefore not free for the taking," he added. The Federation also pointed out that these works receive economic incentives and legal protection through both national copyright laws and international treaties. "This legal protection is neither debatable nor dispensable and there is no good public policy reason to weaken it for the convenience and objectives of technology companies," he said. "Generative AI companies, buoyed by their financial might and technological prowess, must recognise that creative works of authorship cannot be treated as mere data points for their algorithms," he added. The Federation cites five examples where users have prompted ChatGPT to perform tasks that directly involve copyrighted material, such as: Each of these examples raises concerns about whether ChatGPT's use of copyrighted material for training and generating responses constitutes infringement under copyright law. Moreover, Gupta stressed that the use of unlicensed extracts by AI chatbots to produce summaries could impact book sales, with all members expressing concern over this issue. If the output generated by the model closely resembles or directly imitates any of its training inputs, it could lead to a claim of copyright infringement under the exclusive reproduction rights. However, determining who would bear responsibility for this remains a separate issue. During a MediaNama discussion on AI governance, participants observed that traditional liability frameworks assign responsibility to humans. However, AI's probabilistic nature complicates this, as, on the one hand, liability typically relies on deterministic results, and on the other, AI outcomes are inherently probabilistic. Ajay Kumar from Triumvir Law proposed a statutory licensing model for AI training content. He suggested that creators should receive royalties whenever others use their data for AI training. He recommended adapting the Copyright Act's statutory licensing provision to allow models to train on copyrighted content generated in India, ensuring creators receive compensation. "If someone uses my copyrighted work to train their AI, I should be entitled to a royalty. This approach should be the solution," he explained. Furthermore, AI licensing could develop in a way similar to Creative Commons licenses, allowing copyright holders to allocate different usage rights for various components of a model, including its architecture, data, or outputs. OpenAI had argued against ANI by stating, "Copyright does not protect ideas or facts. It only protects expression." The argument raises the question of whether copyright law safeguards only the way ideas or facts are presented (the expression) and not the underlying factual information itself. This distinction could imply that simply using publicly available data or facts to train an AI model does not infringe on copyright, as the law does not cover the mere use of ideas or factual content. According to the Bombay High Court in Ram Sampath vs Rajesh Roshan and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation vs Sohail Maklai Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., even copying fragments of a work, such as "hooks," can constitute infringement. The court applied a test where, if an ordinary person, even an illiterate one, recognizes the tune or work and thinks, "Hey! I've heard this before," it indicates infringement. This test focused on whether the new work evokes a clear memory of the original. Similarly, in the landmark case of R.G. Anand v. Deluxe Films, the Supreme Court established that "[o]ne of the surest and the safest test to determine whether or not there has been a violation of copyright is to see if the reader, spectator or the viewer after having read or seen both the works is clearly of the opinion and gets an unmistakable impression that the subsequent work appears to be a copy of the original." This test clarifies that unless the output generated by the model is substantially similar -- i.e. unmistakably similar or a literal imitation of a previous work or a work included in the dataset -- it would not infringe on the plaintiff's reproduction rights. A counterpoint to this test arises when considering the role of users in shaping AI-generated outputs and the challenges of attributing liability for such outcomes. As one might question, "When a human makes a decision, it's theirs. When a machine makes a decision, whose is it?" A US district court had previously ruled that copyright law in the United States protects only human-created works, rejecting scientist Stephen Thaler's petition to claim copyright over art generated by his AI system, the Creativity Machine. The court emphasized that copyright claims require human authorship, dismissing Thaler's arguments as assuming rights that do not exist for AI-generated works. This highlights the complexities of determining responsibility for AI outcomes, which are probabilistic rather than deterministic. The user's input, prompts, and modifications play a significant role in shaping the final output, potentially altering its similarity to any original work and complicating the application of traditional copyright tests. Globally, OpenAI faces legal disputes with publications such as the New York Times over copyright issues. While simultaneously it has forged partnerships with other publishers, including some of the largest news outlets in France and Spain, neither party is openly disclosing the amounts OpenAI is paying each publisher. In November last year, Penguin Random House announced a global initiative to add a statement on its books' copyright pages, saying that no one may use or reproduce any part of the book for training AI technologies. OpenAI has consistently argued that its AI systems function within the limits of fair use, drawing from publicly accessible data. Moreover, OpenAI is also preparing to shift from a non-profit organization to a for-profit entity as it seeks to secure additional funding to maintain its edge in the expensive AI race. The company anticipates losing billions this year and has informed investors that it doesn't expect to reach profitability until 2029. Reuters holds a 26% stake in ANI but clarified in November that it does not engage in ANI's business practices or operations. Reuters also has a multi-year agreement with Meta AI to supply news content for use in AI chatbots.

OpenAI faces new copyright case, from global publishers in India

The New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Publishers told Reuters it had filed a case at the Delhi High Court, which is already hearing a similar lawsuit against OpenAI. The case was filed on behalf of all the federation's members, who include publishers like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press and Pan Macmillan, as well as India's Rupa Publications and S.Chand and Co, it said.Indian book publishers and their international counterparts have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, a representative said on Friday, the latest in a series of global cases seeking to stop the ChatGPT chatbot accessing proprietary content. Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted. The New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Publishers told Reuters it had filed a case at the Delhi High Court, which is already hearing a similar lawsuit against OpenAI. The case was filed on behalf of all the federation's members, who include publishers like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press and Pan Macmillan, as well as India's Rupa Publications and S.Chand and Co, it said. "Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI from) accessing our copyright content," Pranav Gupta, the federation's general secretary said in an interview about the lawsuit, which concerns the ChatGPT tool's book summaries. "In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity," he added. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations and the lawsuit, which was filed in December but is being reported here for the first time. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year. The Indian book publishers' group is seeking to join Indian news agency ANI's lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which is the most high-profile legal proceeding in the nation on this subject. "These cases represent a pivotal moment and can potentially shape the future legal framework on AI in India. The judgment passed here will test the balance between protecting IP and promoting tech advancement," said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a Mumbai based lawyer. Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in comments reported by Reuters this week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no right to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad. The federation said OpenAI offers services in India so its activities should fall under Indian laws. Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in its business practices or operations. OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people, where millions of new users are going online, thanks to cheap mobile data prices. Worries over book summaries A Reuters reporter asked ChatGPT on Friday for details of the first volume of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, published by Bloomsbury. The AI tool responded with a chapter-by-chapter summary and a key events summary including the story's climax. It stopped short of giving the actual text, however, saying, "I cannot provide the entire text of the book, as it is copyrighted material." Penguin Random House in November said it has started a global initiative to include a statement on the copyright page of its titles saying "no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training" AI technologies. The Indian federation's December filing, which was seen by Reuters, argues it has obtained "credible evidence/information" from its members that OpenAI used their literary works to train its ChatGPT service. "This free tool produces book summaries, extracts, why would people buy books then?" Gupta said, referring to AI chatbots using extracts from unlicensed online copies. "This will impact our sales, all members are concerned about this." The federation's plea has so far only been listed before a court registrar in New Delhi who on Jan 10 asked OpenAI to respond in the matter. A judge will now hear the case on Jan. 28.

OpenAI Faces New Copyright Case, From Global Publishers in India

AI firms have been accused of using copyrighted work to train models Indian book publishers and their international counterparts have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, a representative said on Friday, the latest in a series of global cases seeking to stop the ChatGPT chatbot accessing proprietary content. Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted. The New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Publishers told Reuters it had filed a case at the Delhi High Court, which is already hearing a similar lawsuit against OpenAI. The case was filed on behalf of all the federation's members, who include publishers like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press and Pan Macmillan, as well as India's Rupa Publications and S.Chand and Co, it said. "Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI from) accessing our copyright content," Pranav Gupta, the federation's general secretary said in an interview about the lawsuit, which concerns the ChatGPT tool's book summaries. "In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity," he added. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations and the lawsuit, which was filed in December but is being reported here for the first time. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year. The Indian book publishers' group is seeking to join Indian news agency ANI's lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which is the most high-profile legal proceeding in the nation on this subject. "These cases represent a pivotal moment and can potentially shape the future legal framework on AI in India. The judgment passed here will test the balance between protecting IP and promoting tech advancement," said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a Mumbai based lawyer. Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in comments reported by Reuters this week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no right to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad. The federation said OpenAI offers services in India so its activities should fall under Indian laws. Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in its business practices or operations. OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people, where millions of new users are going online, thanks to cheap mobile data prices. Worries Over Book Summaries A Reuters reporter asked ChatGPT on Friday for details of the first volume of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, published by Bloomsbury. The AI tool responded with a chapter-by-chapter summary and a key events summary including the story's climax. It stopped short of giving the actual text, however, saying, "I cannot provide the entire text of the book, as it is copyrighted material." Penguin Random House in November said it has started a global initiative to include a statement on the copyright page of its titles saying "no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training" AI technologies. The Indian federation's December filing, which was seen by Reuters, argues it has obtained "credible evidence/information" from its members that OpenAI used their literary works to train its ChatGPT service. "This free tool produces book summaries, extracts, why would people buy books then?" Gupta said, referring to AI chatbots using extracts from unlicensed online copies. "This will impact our sales, all members are concerned about this." The federation's plea has so far only been listed before a court registrar in New Delhi who on Jan 10 asked OpenAI to respond in the matter. A judge will now hear the case on Jan. 28.

Indian Publishers Sue OpenAI For Copyright Infringement

The Indian and global publishers are looking to join news agency ANI, which has also filed a copyright infringement case against OpenAI in the HC Multiple domestic and global book publishers have reportedly banded together and sued artificial intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement. The Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) told Reuters that it has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in the Delhi High Court (HC). The federation filed the case on behalf of all its members, including homegrown players like Rupa Publications and S Chand and Co as well global giants such as Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press and Pan Macmillan. "Our ask from the court is that they (OpenAI) should stop accessing our copyright content... In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity," said FIP's general secretary Pranav Gupta. The lawsuit, which was filed in December, reportedly claims that the federation has "credible evidence/information" from its members that OpenAI used their literary works to train its ChatGPT service. "This free tool (AI chatbots) produces book summaries, extracts, why would people buy books then?... This will impact our sales, all members are concerned about this," added Gupta. As per the report, the case has so far only been listed before a court registrar who, last month, directed OpenAI to respond in connection with the matter. A judge will now hear the case on January 28. The Indian and global publishers are also looking to join ANI's ongoing copyright breach lawsuit against OpenAI in Delhi HC. This comes days after OpenAI told the Delhi HC that Indian courts do not have the jurisdiction to hear ANI's copyright infringement case as the company does not have a presence in the country. The submission came in response to a plea filed by ANI against OpenAI in the Delhi HC, alleging that the AI major used the news agency's published content to train ChatGPT without permission. ANI has sought the deletion of its data already stored by ChatGPT. The AI giant, in its submissions, said that it cannot delete the data as it is currently defending a litigation in the US pertaining to the data on which its models have been trained. It added that the US laws require the company to preserve the data while the hearings are pending. The lawsuit filed by Indian publishers is the latest in the series of legal cases being heard across the world. Many authors, news outlets and musicians have accused technology companies of using their copyrighted work to train AI chatbots and now want the content, which trained these AI systems, to be deleted.

OpenAI argues Indian courts lack jurisdiction in ANI copyright case

OpenAI informed the Delhi High Court that complying with any directive to remove the training data behind its ChatGPT service would conflict with its legal obligations in the United States, reported Reuters. The AI company contended that it has "no office or permanent establishment in India... the servers on which (ChatGPT) stores its training data are similarly situated outside of India." OpenAI is currently facing at least nine lawsuits from various writers and news organizations, including the New York Times and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Similarly, other AI companies have encountered legal challenges, such as the New York Times issuing a cease-and-desist notice to Perplexity for data scraping, and several music labels accusing AI firms of copyright violations for generating digital music files using prompts. OpenAI has consistently maintained that its AI systems operate within the bounds of fair use, utilizing publicly available data. Reuters holds a 26% stake in ANI but stated in November that it does not participate in ANI's business practices or operations. Notably, Reuters has a multi-year agreement with Meta AI to provide Reuters news content for use in AI chatbots. OpenAI has been gearing up to transition from a non-profit enterprise into a for-profit business as it looks to capture even more funding to stay ahead in the costly AI race. This year, OpenAI expects to incur billions in losses and has informed investors that it won't become profitable until 2029. In November, ANI filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing it of using its published content to train ChatGPT without authorisation and demanding the deletion of ANI's data already stored by the platform. At the November hearing, OpenAI informed the Delhi High Court that it would cease using ANI's content. However, the news agency argued that ChatGPT had already stored its published works in memory and should remove them. ANI's lawyer, Siddhant Kumar, previously argued that publicly available content does not grant OpenAI the right to exploit or store it, citing Section 52 of the Copyright Act. ANI also claimed that ChatGPT reproduced their content verbatim or in a substantially similar form, violating copyright. Additionally, Kumar highlighted instances of false attribution, such as misquoting ANI's interviews, leading to concerns about fake news and reputational harm. OpenAI, represented by advocate Amit Sibal, defended itself by stating that no court had found evidence of copyright infringement in the lawsuits it faces globally. Sibal also raised a jurisdictional issue, noting that OpenAI has no offices in India and its servers are located abroad, thus no infringement occurred within India. He further argued that "Copyright does not protect ideas or facts. It only protects expression." Regarding false attribution, Sibal suggested that manipulated queries could have caused misleading responses, and emphasised that OpenAI had removed instances of misattribution as they arose. OpenAI also pointed out that ANI placed its website on a block list in October 2024. This followed the standard procedure for publishers who opt out of having their data used for training. In a MediaNama discussion on AI governance, we raised key questions about liability attribution. Traditional liability frameworks assign responsibility to humans, but AI's probabilistic outcomes complicate this, as liability usually relies on deterministic results, whereas AI outcomes are inherently probabilistic in nature. Ajay Kumar from Triumvir Law proposed a statutory licensing model for AI training content, where creators would receive royalties when others use their data. He suggested adapting the Copyright Act's provision for statutory licensing, which would allow models to train on copyrighted content generated in India while ensuring creators receive compensation. "...If someone uses my copyrighted work to train their AI, I should be entitled to a royalty. This approach should be the solution," he said. Moreover, AI licensing could evolve similarly to Creative Commons licenses, where copyright holders assign different usage rights to various parts of a model, such as its architecture, data, or outputs.

Exclusive-OpenAI faces new copyright case, from global publishers in India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian book publishers and their international counterparts have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, a representative said on Friday, the latest in a series of global cases seeking to stop the ChatGPT chatbot accessing proprietary content. Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted. The New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Publishers told Reuters it had filed a case at the Delhi High Court, which is already hearing a similar lawsuit against OpenAI. The case was filed on behalf of all the federation's members, who include publishers like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press and Pan Macmillan, as well as India's Rupa Publications and S.Chand and Co, it said. "Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI from) accessing our copyright content," Pranav Gupta, the federation's general secretary said in an interview about the lawsuit, which concerns the ChatGPT tool's book summaries. "In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity," he added. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations and the lawsuit, which was filed in December but is being reported here for the first time. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year. The Indian book publishers' group is seeking to join Indian news agency ANI's lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which is the most high-profile legal proceeding in the nation on this subject. "These cases represent a pivotal moment and can potentially shape the future legal framework on AI in India. The judgment passed here will test the balance between protecting IP and promoting tech advancement," said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a Mumbai based lawyer. Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in comments reported by Reuters this week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no right to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad. The federation said OpenAI offers services in India so its activities should fall under Indian laws. Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in its business practices or operations. OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people, where millions of new users are going online, thanks to cheap mobile data prices. WORRIES OVER BOOK SUMMARIES A Reuters reporter asked ChatGPT on Friday for details of the first volume of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, published by Bloomsbury. The AI tool responded with a chapter-by-chapter summary and a key events summary including the story's climax. It stopped short of giving the actual text, however, saying, "I cannot provide the entire text of the book, as it is copyrighted material." Penguin Random House in November said it has started a global initiative to include a statement on the copyright page of its titles saying "no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training" AI technologies. The Indian federation's December filing, which was seen by Reuters, argues it has obtained "credible evidence/information" from its members that OpenAI used their literary works to train its ChatGPT service. "This free tool produces book summaries, extracts, why would people buy books then?" Gupta said, referring to AI chatbots using extracts from unlicensed online copies. "This will impact our sales, all members are concerned about this." The federation's plea has so far only been listed before a court registrar in New Delhi who on Jan 10 asked OpenAI to respond in the matter. A judge will now hear the case on Jan. 28. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi and Munsif Vengattil; editing by Philippa Fletcher) By Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi and Munsif Vengattil

OpenAI faces legal heat in India, here's why

This lawsuit aims to prevent OpenAI from accessing proprietary content without proper licensing or agreements. OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot, is facing legal trouble in India. Indian book publishers, alongside their international counterparts, have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in the Delhi High Court. This lawsuit aims to prevent OpenAI from accessing proprietary content without proper licensing or agreements. The Federation of Indian Publishers, representing members like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press, Pan Macmillan, Rupa Publications, and S. Chand and Co., has expressed concerns about how ChatGPT generates summaries of copyrighted books, reports Reuters. Also read: Accident or cover-up? OpenAI allegedly deletes potential evidence in copyright case "Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI from) accessing our copyright content," Pranav Gupta, the federation's general secretary, was quoted as saying in the report. "In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we will be compensated. This impacts creativity," he added. This legal challenge is one of many worldwide against OpenAI and similar companies. Authors, news agencies, and musicians globally are filing cases, alleging that their copyrighted works were used to train AI models without permission. OpenAI has denied these allegations in the past. The company claims it relies on publicly available data and adheres to fair-use principles. However, the Indian publishers argue that OpenAI's activities in India must comply with Indian laws. Also read: ANI sues OpenAI over using its content for training ChatGPT models This lawsuit follows a similar case filed by Indian news agency ANI against OpenAI. The federation hopes to join this high-profile case. OpenAI, in response to the ANI case, stated that deleting its training data would violate its U.S. legal obligations. The company also argued that Indian judges do not have the authority to hear a copyright case against the company because its servers are located overseas. Legal experts see this case as a potential game-changer. "These cases represent a pivotal moment and can potentially shape the future legal framework on AI in India. The judgment passed here will test the balance between protecting IP and promoting tech advancement," said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a lawyer based in Mumbai.

Exclusive: OpenAI to face Indian digital news firms of Ambani, Adani in copyright battle

NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets like the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, have mounted a legal challenge against OpenAI's improper use of copyright content, legal papers show. The media outlets including Adani's NDTV (NDTV.NS), opens new tab and Ambani's Network18 (NEFI.NS), opens new tab have told a New Delhi court they 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 to users of the powerful AI tool. Reuters is first to report the case filing by the digital news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also now joined in. The 135-page case filing in the New Delhi court, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets. It refers to OpenAI's "wilful scraping ... and adaptation of content". Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted. The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adani's NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Dainik Bhaskar. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too. The Times of India is not taking part in the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the new allegations. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. None of the Indian media companies immediately responded to Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Sonali Paul Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence Aditya Kalra Thomson Reuters Aditya Kalra is the Company News Editor for Reuters in India, overseeing business coverage and reporting stories on some of the world's biggest companies. He joined Reuters in 2008 and has in recent years written stories on challenges and strategies of a wide array of companies -- from Amazon, Google and Walmart to Xiaomi, Starbucks and Reliance. He also extensively works on deeply-reported and investigative business stories. Arpan Chaturvedi Thomson Reuters Arpan is a correspondent for Reuters based in New Delhi, where he reports from the courts in India. He joined Reuters in 2022, and has been a part of the companies coverage team reporting on court cases spanning aviation, mining, human rights and other public interest issues.

OpenAI to face digital news firms of Ambani's News18, Adani's NDTV in copyright battle

Indian news companies, including Gautam Adani's NDTV and Mukesh Ambani's Network18, have joined a legal battle against OpenAI, alleging its AI tool ChatGPT improperly uses their copyrighted content. These media outlets have filed a lawsuit in a New Delhi court, citing concerns over unauthorized scraping and reproduction of their work. OpenAI has denied these allegations.Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets like the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, have mounted a legal challenge against OpenAI's improper use of copyright content, legal papers show. The media outlets including Adani's NDTV and Ambani's Network18 have told a New Delhi court they 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 to users of the powerful AI tool. Reuters is first to report the case filing by the digital news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also now joined in. The 135-page case filing in the New Delhi court, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets. It refers to OpenAI's "wilful scraping ... and adaptation of content". Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted. The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adani's NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Dainik Bhaskar. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too. The Times of India is not taking part in the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the new allegations. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. None of the Indian media companies immediately responded to Reuters request for comment.

Exclusive-OpenAI to face Indian digital news firms of Ambani, Adani in copyright battle

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets like the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, have mounted a legal challenge against OpenAI's improper use of copyright content, legal papers show. The media outlets including Adani's NDTV and Ambani's Network18 have told a New Delhi court they 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 to users of the powerful AI tool. Reuters is first to report the case filing by the digital news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also now joined in. The 135-page case filing in the New Delhi court, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets. It refers to OpenAI's "wilful scraping ... and adaptation of content". Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted. The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adani's NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Dainik Bhaskar. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too. The Times of India is not taking part in the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the new allegations. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. None of the Indian media companies immediately responded to Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Sonali Paul)

OpenAI tells India court ChatGPT data removal will breach US legal obligations

The Microsoft-backed AI firm also said that it was not within the jurisdiction of Indian courts to hear a copyright breach case brought by local news agency ANI as OpenAI had no presence in the country.OpenAI has told an Indian court that any order to remove training data powering its ChatGPT service would be inconsistent with its legal obligations in the United States, according to a recent filing seen by Reuters. The Microsoft-backed AI firm also said that it was not within the jurisdiction of Indian courts to hear a copyright breach case brought by local news agency ANI as OpenAI had no presence in the country. In the most high-profile and closely-tracked lawsuit on AI use in India, ANI sued OpenAI in Delhi in November, accusing it of using the news agency's published content without permission to train ChatGPT. OpenAI responded to the lawsuit, which is also seeking the deletion of ANI's data already stored by ChatGPT, in an 86-page filing at the Delhi High Court dated Jan. 10 which has not previously been reported. OpenAI and other firms have faced a wave of similar lawsuits from prominent copyright owners over alleged misuse of their work to train AI models, including a case brought by the New York Times against OpenAI in the United States. OpenAI has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. During a November hearing, OpenAI told the Delhi court it would not use ANI's content anymore but the news agency argued its published works were stored in ChatGPT's memory and should be deleted. In the Jan. 10 submission, OpenAI said that it is currently defending litigation in the United States concerning the data on which its models have been trained, with laws there requiring it to preserve the data while hearings are pending. OpenAI "is therefore under a legal obligation, under the laws of the United States to preserve, and not delete, the said training data", it said. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. In its submission, OpenAI also said the relief being claimed by ANI was not subject to the processes of Indian courts and was beyond their jurisdiction. The company has "no office or permanent establishment in India ... the servers on which (ChatGPT) stores its training data are similarly situated outside of India". ANI, in which Reuters holds a 26% interest, in a statement said that it believes the Delhi court has jurisdiction to decide on the matter, and it would file a detailed response. A Reuters spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment but the agency in November said it was not involved in ANI's business practices or operations. The New Delhi court is due to hear the case on Jan. 28. OpenAI has been gearing up to transition from a non-profit enterprise into a for-profit business as it looks to capture even more funding to stay ahead in the costly AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year. In recent months, it has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde and Spain's Prisa Media to display content. ANI has also said it is concerned about unfair competition given OpenAI's commercial partnerships with other news organisations, and has told the court that in response to user prompts, ChatGPT reproduced verbatim or substantially similar extracts of ANI's works. In its rebuttal submission, OpenAI argues that ANI "has sought to use verbatim extracts of its own article as a prompt, in an attempt to manipulate ChatGPT".

ChatGPT Data Removal Will Breach US Legal Obligations, OpenAI Tells Court

ANI has brought a copyright case against OpenAI to Indian courts OpenAI has told an Indian court that any order to remove training data powering its ChatGPT service would be inconsistent with its legal obligations in the United States, according to a recent filing seen by Reuters. The Microsoft-backed AI firm also said that it was not within the jurisdiction of Indian courts to hear a copyright breach case brought by local news agency ANI as OpenAI had no presence in the country. In the most high-profile and closely-tracked lawsuit on AI use in India, ANI sued OpenAI in Delhi in November, accusing it of using the news agency's published content without permission to train ChatGPT. OpenAI responded to the lawsuit, which is also seeking the deletion of ANI's data already stored by ChatGPT, in an 86-page filing at the Delhi High Court dated January 10 which has not previously been reported. OpenAI and other firms have faced a wave of similar lawsuits from prominent copyright owners over alleged misuse of their work to train AI models, including a case brought by the New York Times against OpenAI in the United States. OpenAI has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. During a November hearing, OpenAI told the Delhi court it would not use ANI's content anymore but the news agency argued its published works were stored in ChatGPT's memory and should be deleted. In the January 10 submission, OpenAI said that it is currently defending litigation in the United States concerning the data on which its models have been trained, with laws there requiring it to preserve the data while hearings are pending. OpenAI "is therefore under a legal obligation, under the laws of the United States to preserve, and not delete, the said training data", it said. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. In its submission, OpenAI also said the relief being claimed by ANI was not subject to the processes of Indian courts and was beyond their jurisdiction. The company has "no office or permanent establishment in India ... the servers on which (ChatGPT) stores its training data are similarly situated outside of India". ANI, in which Reuters holds a 26 percent interest, in a statement said that it believes the Delhi court has jurisdiction to decide on the matter, and it would file a detailed response. A Reuters spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment but the agency in November said it was not involved in ANI's business practices or operations. The New Delhi court is due to hear the case on January 28. OpenAI has been gearing up to transition from a non-profit enterprise into a for-profit business as it looks to capture even more funding to stay ahead in the costly AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year. In recent months, it has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde and Spain's Prisa Media to display content. ANI has also said it is concerned about unfair competition given OpenAI's commercial partnerships with other news organisations, and has told the court that in response to user prompts, ChatGPT reproduced verbatim or substantially similar extracts of ANI's works. In its rebuttal submission, OpenAI argues that ANI "has sought to use verbatim extracts of its own article as a prompt, in an attempt to manipulate ChatGPT". © Thomson Reuters 2025

Exclusive-OpenAI tells India court ChatGPT data removal will breach US legal obligations

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - OpenAI has told an Indian court that any order to remove training data powering its ChatGPT service would be inconsistent with its legal obligations in the United States, according to a recent filing seen by Reuters. The Microsoft-backed AI firm also said that it was not within the jurisdiction of Indian courts to hear a copyright breach case brought by local news agency ANI as OpenAI had no presence in the country. In the most high-profile and closely-tracked lawsuit on AI use in India, ANI sued OpenAI in Delhi in November, accusing it of using the news agency's published content without permission to train ChatGPT. OpenAI responded to the lawsuit, which is also seeking the deletion of ANI's data already stored by ChatGPT, in an 86-page filing at the Delhi High Court dated Jan. 10 which has not previously been reported. OpenAI and other firms have faced a wave of similar lawsuits from prominent copyright owners over alleged misuse of their work to train AI models, including a case brought by the New York Times against OpenAI in the United States. OpenAI has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data. During a November hearing, OpenAI told the Delhi court it would not use ANI's content anymore but the news agency argued its published works were stored in ChatGPT's memory and should be deleted. In the Jan. 10 submission, OpenAI said that it is currently defending litigation in the United States concerning the data on which its models have been trained, with laws there requiring it to preserve the data while hearings are pending. OpenAI "is therefore under a legal obligation, under the laws of the United States to preserve, and not delete, the said training data", it said. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. In its submission, OpenAI also said the relief being claimed by ANI was not subject to the processes of Indian courts and was beyond their jurisdiction. The company has "no office or permanent establishment in India ... the servers on which (ChatGPT) stores its training data are similarly situated outside of India". ANI, in which Reuters holds a 26% interest, in a statement said that it believes the Delhi court has jurisdiction to decide on the matter, and it would file a detailed response. A Reuters spokesperson did not respond immediately to a request for comment but the agency in November said it was not involved in ANI's business practices or operations. The New Delhi court is due to hear the case on Jan. 28. OpenAI has been gearing up to transition from a non-profit enterprise into a for-profit business as it looks to capture even more funding to stay ahead in the costly AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year. In recent months, it has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde and Spain's Prisa Media to display content. ANI has also said it is concerned about unfair competition given OpenAI's commercial partnerships with other news organisations, and has told the court that in response to user prompts, ChatGPT reproduced verbatim or substantially similar extracts of ANI's works. In its rebuttal submission, OpenAI argues that ANI "has sought to use verbatim extracts of its own article as a prompt, in an attempt to manipulate ChatGPT". (Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) By Arpan Chaturvedi, Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

OpenAI Says Indian Courts Can't Hear Copyright Breach Cases

The AI major argued that it has "no office or permanent establishment in India ... the servers on which (ChatGPT) stores its training data are similarly situated outside of India" OpenAI has reportedly told the Delhi High Court (HC) that the Indian courts do not have the jurisdiction to hear a copyright infringement case against the artificial intelligence (AI) company. OpenAI cited its lack of presence in the country for the stance. The submissions came in response to a copyright breach case filed by news agency ANI in the HC. As per filings seen by Reuters, the AI giant said that any order to remove training data powering its chatbot ChatGPT would be inconsistent with its legal obligations in the US. The Sam Altman-led company reportedly told the HC that it is currently defending litigation in the US pertaining to the data on which its models have been trained. It added that the laws of the North American country require the companies to preserve the data while hearings are pending. OpenAI "is therefore under a legal obligation, under the laws of the United States to preserve, and not delete, the said training data", the AI major reportedly added. This comes nearly two months after ANI filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that the AI company used the news agency's published content to train ChatGPT without permission. ANI has sought the deletion of its data already stored by ChatGPT. In response, OpenAI has now responded with an 86-page filing at the Delhi HC. In its submission, OpenAI also said that the relief sought by ANI is not subject to the processes of Indian courts and is beyond their jurisdiction. Making its case, the AI major argued that it has "no office or permanent establishment in India ... the servers on which (ChatGPT) stores its training data are similarly situated outside of India". The HC will next hear the matter on January 28. Notably, OpenAI, during a hearing in November, reportedly told the Delhi HC that it would no longer use ANI's content anymore. In response, ANI contended that its published works were still stored in ChatGPT's memory and should be deleted. In its petition, ANI has also raised concerns over unfair competition arising from OpenAI's commercial partnerships with other news organisations. Making its case, the news agency also told the HC that ChatGPT "reproduced verbatim or substantially similar extracts" of ANI's works in response to user prompts. Rebutting the charge, OpenAI claimed that ANI "has sought to use verbatim extracts of its own article as a prompt, in an attempt to manipulate ChatGPT". The lawsuit reportedly alleges that OpenAI exploited ANI's content for its commercial gain by using the new agency's content to train its large language models (LLMs). This is the first time that an Indian publisher has dragged an AI platform to the court for violating its intellectual property rights. The lawsuit has been filed by Delhi-based Unum Law on behalf of ANI. Notably, this is not the first time that a GenAI platform has landed in choppy regulatory waters in the country. In February 2024, Google ran into trouble with the IT ministry over some of the responses from its AI platform Gemini on questions about Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

NDTV, Network18, More Media Groups Team Up Against OpenAI In Copyright Case

A group of global and Indian book publishers also joined the lawsuit later Media outlets such as NDTV, Network18, the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times have reportedly told a New Delhi court that they wanted to join an ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI associated with alleged improper use of copyright content. As per a Reuter's report, the media outlets have moved against ChatGPT creator as they are concerned that their news portals are being scraped to store and reproduce their work to users of the powerful AI tool. The lawsuit against OpenAI was first filed by the news agency ANI last year and then joined by a group of global and Indian book publishers. The 135-page case filing in the court, which was reviewed by Reuters, argues that OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets.

Adani, Ambani news units sue OpenAI over copyright, Reuters reports By Investing.com

Investing.com -- A group of Indian digital news publishers, including those owned by billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, have initiated a legal challenge against OpenAI, Reuters reported on Monday, citing legal papers. They allege that the AI company has improperly used copyrighted content from their platforms, the report said. The outlets, which include Adani's NDTV and Ambani's Network18, have expressed concerns that their websites might be scraped for content that is then replicated and served to users of OpenAI's ChatGPT tool. The report also added that legal action involves a request to a New Delhi court to join an existing lawsuit against OpenAI. Previously, ANI, a local news agency, had filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last year, marking one of the most high-profile legal actions against the company in the country.

OpenAI says India court can't hear case on alleged copyright breach

OpenAI has told an Indian court that any order to remove training data powering its ChatGPT service would be inconsistent with its legal obligations in the United States, according to a recent filing seen by Reuters. The Microsoft-backed AI firm also said that it was not within the jurisdiction of Indian courts to hear a copyright breach case brought by local news agency ANI as OpenAI had no presence in the country. In the most high-profile and closely-tracked lawsuit on AI use in India, ANI sued OpenAI in Delhi in November, accusing it of using the news agency's published content without permission to train ChatGPT. OpenAI responded to the lawsuit, which is also seeking the deletion of ANI's data already stored by ChatGPT, in an 86-page filing at the Delhi High Court dated Jan. 10 which has not previously been reported.

OpenAI defends its data use in Indian court case By Investing.com

Investing.com -- OpenAI has stated in a recent court filing that any demand to erase training data used for its ChatGPT service would conflict with its legal duties in the United States, according to Reuters. The firm was responding to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Indian news agency ANI. OpenAI also argued that Indian courts do not have jurisdiction over the case, as the firm has no established presence in the country. The copyright dispute was initiated by ANI in Delhi in November, alleging OpenAI had utilized the news agency's content without consent to train its ChatGPT service. In response to the lawsuit, which also seeks to remove ANI's data already stored by ChatGPT, OpenAI submitted an 86-page document to the Delhi High Court on January 10. This legal development is part of the most high-profile and closely observed case on AI usage in India to date.