Canadian news outlets sue OpenAI

The coalition includes major outlets such as the Toronto Star, Metroland Media, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC, marking what is reportedly the first case of its kind in Canada.

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Canada’s leading news organizations have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of the ChatGPT AI chatbot, accusing the company of unlawfully using news articles to train its technology.

The coalition includes major outlets such as the Toronto Star, Metroland Media, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC, marking what is reportedly the first case of its kind in Canada.

OpenAI has defended its practices, asserting that its models rely on "publicly available data" and adhere to fair use and international copyright principles, which the company says support both innovation and creators. 

In a statement to the BBC, OpenAI also highlighted its collaboration with news publishers, offering attribution and links to the original content in ChatGPT search and providing options for publishers to opt-out.

The media coalition’s 84-page legal complaint accuses OpenAI of bypassing safeguards such as paywalls and copyright notices to scrape content unlawfully. 

They claim that this content was used to develop products like ChatGPT, violating copyright and terms of use.

The plaintiffs are seeking punitive damages of C$20,000 per article allegedly used in ChatGPT's training, a figure that could escalate into billions of dollars. They are also asking for a share of OpenAI’s profits derived from their work and an injunction to prevent further unauthorized use of their content.

This legal action mirrors similar lawsuits abroad. In the U.S., the New York Times and other publishers have taken similar steps against OpenAI, with allegations of copyright infringement and evidence destruction. Additionally, prominent authors, including John Grisham, have filed their own claims of unauthorized use of their works.