In brief
Major Canadian publishers are alleging that OpenAI illegally used their articles, sparking a significant legal showdown.
Canada's leading news organizations, including the Toronto Star, CBC, and The Globe and Mail, are suing OpenAI, claiming the company unlawfully utilized their journalism to train its AI, ChatGPT. This lawsuit marks a groundbreaking moment in Canada, with these publishers arguing that OpenAI’s actions violate copyright laws. In a united statement, the coalition emphasized that journalism serves the public good and criticized OpenAI for using their work for profit without proper authorization. OpenAI, in response, contends that its training data comes from publicly available sources and is compliant with fair use regulations. The company also highlights its collaboration with media outlets, which includes proper content attribution and options to opt-out.The lawsuit spans an 84-page document detailing claims that OpenAI disregarded copyright protections and automatically extracted content from Canadian media. The journalist group seeks C$20,000 ($14,300; £11,000) in damages for each article they allege was misappropriated—a potential total reaching billions. They also want a court order demanding profit-sharing and a prohibition on future use of their articles by OpenAI. This legal move follows similar actions in the US by various publishers against OpenAI and is set against a backdrop of increasing scrutiny over the impact of AI on traditional media.
