Indian news agency ANI has sued ChatGPT creator OpenAI for copyright violations in Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued summons to OpenAI seeking in a copyright infringement lawsuit. ANI is the latest news organisation globally to file lawsuit against OpenAI. Earlier, the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune had taken the U.S tech giant company to court.
ANI’s Plea
ANI has accused the parent company of ChatGPT for using its copyright content for training the AI. It accused OpenAI of disparagement, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition. ANI argued that ChatGPT produces “duplicate, often verbatim” content on its platform when users raise certain queries. It also accused the U.S tech giant of attributing fabricated news stories to the publication.
Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing ANI, explained to the court how ChatGPT functions and how OpenAI used ANI’s copyrighted material for training. Bar and Bench reported Kumar saying, “The software is provided with all the publicly available data which includes copyrighted content. And in this case, my content is a part of the data that is used to train.”
Kumar further contended that just because the news content is publicly available, OpenAI does not have the right to exploit or create copies to store. Inciting the Copyright Act of 1957, ANI said that it is the sole owner of the copyright. According to the Act, ANI asserted its sole right to exploit, reproduce or store copies of its work in any form. It added that OpenAI is storing its content with the sole purpose of enhancing the Chatbot’s capabilities and functionalities. ANI added that such content remains in ChatGPT’s memory indefinitely.
Apart from storing and using ANI’s content without permission or license, ANI accused OpenAI for providing services to its users including subscribers, violating the news agency’s exclusive copyrights. Moreover, it pointed out the instances of hallucinatory responses which ChatGPT produced with an attribution to the news agency. It argued that OpenAI in many instances had “falsely attributed statements” to ANI that misled the general public.
For instance, the plea states that ChatGPT, “falsely stated” that the leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi had made an appearance on an ANI podcast. It even went to so far as to summarise the “alleged interview,” in response to a user inquiry. When in fact, Mr. Gandhi never featured on ANI’s podcast, and the statements were “false and fabricated.”
ANI sought to restrain, OpenAI from exploiting its content on any version of ChatGPT in any form including storing, publishing or reproducing. It also sought damages for its loss on account of copyright infringement, unjust enrichment etc.
OpenAI In Court…
Amit Sibal, representing OpenAI, claimed that OpenAI provides a facility that allows any platform to block its information. Sibal claimed that OpenAI had blocked ANI’s content as of October 2024. He argued that in no query ChatGPT produced ANI’s expressions. ChatGPT, he claimed learns from information which it access from various sources but it never accesses any database to respond to a query.
Responding to the allegation of hallucinations, Sibal stated that OpenAI has always disclaimed that it does not provide perfect information. He added that the software learns and keeps improving everyday.
Court Order..
Taking note of the submission, the Court said that the issue requires deeper consideration. The court thus appointed an amicus curiae in this case. According to Live Law Report, the Court ordered, “Considering the range of issues in the present suit as well as issues arising on account of the latest technological advancements vis-à-vis copyrights of various copyright owners, this court is of the view that an amicus curiae be appointed to assist the court in this case.”
The bench issued notice to OpenAI, asking it to respond to ANI’s plea. The matter is listed for January 2025, requiring both parties to submit detailed arguments. Overall, the outcome of this lawsuit will serve as a focal point in deciding how AI will operate in the country.