Seattle Times and Newsday are the latest publications to sue OpenAI and Microsoft
| Source: TechCrunch AI
Tags: OpenAI, Microsoft, copyright, Seattle Times, Newsday, media licensing, copyright litigation
The Seattle Times and Newsday have sued OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged unauthorized use of their journalism to train AI — particularly notable since Seattle Times previously accepted funding from both companies, and the suit warns generative AI could render the news industry broken beyond repair.
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The Seattle Times and Newsday have joined the growing wave of news publishers suing OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the companies scraped their journalism without authorization to train AI systems including ChatGPT and Copilot. The lawsuit warns that generative AI could destroy the very organizations that produce the content it learns from — calling it a snake eating its own tail. The case has an ironic wrinkle: The Seattle Times has previously accepted funding and fellowships from both Microsoft and OpenAI for journalism initiatives, making the legal confrontation more pointed. Microsoft told GeekWire it was surprised by the lawsuit but open to discussion. This follows the landmark New York Times lawsuit filed in 2023, which set the legal template and has since drawn in publishers ranging from regional newspapers to global media brands. The core legal question — whether training AI on copyrighted text constitutes infringement or falls under fair use — remains unresolved in U.S. courts. For AI developers, the accumulating suits create legal uncertainty and reputational risk. Licensing deals with publishers — as OpenAI has struck with several major outlets — may become the standard path to settlement, but holdouts show not everyone will accept those terms.