Five Canadian News Outlets File Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Copyright Infringement

Recently, a significant uproar has erupted in Canada's media landscape as five influential news media companies have boldly filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, accusing it of severe copyright infringement and violation of online usage terms.

It is reported that this lawsuit is not an isolated incident but a crucial part of a global wave of litigation against OpenAI and other technology companies. Numerous copyright owners, including authors, visual artists, and music publishers, have come forward, unanimously agreeing that these technology companies have trampled on their legitimate rights by using vast amounts of data without authorization to train generative AI systems. Microsoft, the main supporter behind OpenAI, has also been caught in the whirlpool of public opinion.

In a formal statement, five major media outlets—Toronto Star, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC/Radio-Canada—have jointly spoken out. They pointed out that OpenAI's behavior during product development was astonishing, as it had boldly scraped news content without obtaining any licenses or providing any compensation to content owners. These media outlets firmly believe that OpenAI's actions constitute illegal behavior, using others' hard-earned news content for commercial exploitation, which completely violates the basic principles of market fairness and copyright protection.

It is worth mentioning that on November 7, a federal judge in New York dismissed a lawsuit against OpenAI, which alleged that OpenAI had misused news articles from Raw Story and AlterNet. However, the five Canadian media outlets have clearly not given up, striking back once again.

In an 84-page statement of claim submitted to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, these five Canadian companies took a firm stance, not only demanding compensation from OpenAI for the losses incurred but also requesting the court to issue an injunction prohibiting OpenAI from continuing to use their materials without consent. They vehemently pointed out that OpenAI had brazenly trampled on the intellectual property rights of news media companies and used them for commercial profit without consent or payment, which was an outrageous act.

In response to the allegations, OpenAI promptly issued a statement. It claimed that its model construction was based on publicly available data, and the entire training process strictly adhered to the principles of fair use and relevant international copyright laws. OpenAI also emphasized that it had maintained close cooperation with news publishers, displaying news content in ChatGPT's search function while clearly attributing sources, providing links, and thoughtfully offering an opt-out option to demonstrate the compliance of its operations.

The entire technology and media industry is eagerly awaiting the outcome of this lawsuit, wondering whether the Canadian media will successfully defend their rights or whether OpenAI will be able to prove its innocence.