Indian publishers sue OpenAI
Indian publishers take OpenAI to court over AI copyright clash in a landmark legal case which could reshape copyright norms and AI accountability in India.
31 Jan 2025 | 398 Views | By PrintWeek Team
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) representing Indian outlets such as The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and NDTV, has intervened in a Delhi High Court case against OpenAI. The lawsuit, initially filed by news agency ANI in November 2024, accuses the AI firm of unlawfully training its models on copyrighted content without permission or payment.
The DNPA argues that OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT, rely on unlicensed copyrighted works, undermining press transparency and amplifying disinformation risks. Anant Goenka, executive director, The Indian Express highlighted disparities, noting that while AI firms have struck deals with publishers abroad, similar arrangements are absent in India.
The Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP)—whose members include Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press, and Rupa Publications—joined the suit in December 2024. It seeks to block OpenAI from using their content and demands compensation, alleging ChatGPT generates book summaries and extracts from unlicensed works.
During the 28 January hearing, OpenAI urged the Delhi High Court to dismiss the lawsuit, reiterating its reliance on publicly available data under “fair use” principles. OpenAI’s lawyer, Amit Sibal, stated he would file a formal written objection to oppose media organisations’ intervention. Sibal also contested media reports based on non-public court filings, arguing that reliefs were being pursued in “both the courtroom and the public court”. The digital news publishers’ lawyer termed these objections “unfortunate”.
OpenAI maintains compliance with US legal obligations and asserts Indian courts lack jurisdiction, as its servers are overseas. The FIP counters that OpenAI’s local services subject it to Indian law. The case is now set for a hearing in February.
Globally, OpenAI and Microsoft face multiple lawsuits, including a December 2023 case by The New York Times, which alleges ChatGPT replicates its content verbatim, threatening revenue streams. OpenAI has, however, secured content-licensing deals with publishers such as Le Monde, Prisa Media, Financial Times, and Axel Springer in other jurisdictions.