The New York Times and OpenAI Are On a Legal Collision Course

The New York Times and OpenAI appear to be on the verge of a legal showdown, with negotiations between the two companies deteriorating.

According to NPR, the two companies have been negotiating a license agreement that would allow OpenAI to use the Times’articles. According to NPR’ssources, the negotiations “have become so contentious that the paper is now considering legal action.”

Per AdWeek, the Timeshad already updated its terms of service to prevent AIs, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, from scraping and using its content.

Experts are watching the Times/OpenAI situation closely, as it could have massive implications for the entire AI industry. As NPRpoints out, the Timesis concerned that OpenAI could eventually cost the outlet readership if people turn to ChatGPT for answers instead of reading news articles.

At the heart of a potential lawsuit would be questions of copyright and whether OpenAI violates those by scraping website content without proper licensing deals. The outcome of such a lawsuit could very well determine the fate of the company, as well as the entire industry.

“If you’re copying millions of works, you can see how that becomes a number that becomes potentially fatal for a company,” Daniel Gervais, co-director of Vanderbilt University’s IP program, told NPR. “Copyright law is a sword that’s going to hang over the heads of AI companies for several years unless they figure out how to negotiate a solution.”