Canadian news publishers suing ChatGPT developer OpenAI

OTTAWA — A coalition of Canadian news publishers is suing OpenAI for using news content to train its ChatGPT generative artificial intelligence system.

The coalition includes The Canadian Press, Torstar, Globe and Mail, Postmedia and CBC/Radio-Canada.

The outlets said in a joint statement Friday that OpenAI is regularly breaching copyright by scraping large amounts of content from Canadian media.

“OpenAI is capitalizing and profiting from the use of this content, without getting permission or compensating content owners,” the statement said.

The companies said they invest hundreds of millions of dollars into journalism, and that content is protected by copyright.

“News media companies welcome technological innovations. However, all participants must follow the law, and any use of intellectual property must be on fair terms,” the statement said.

Generative AI can create text, images, videos and computer code based on a simple prompt, but the systems must first study vast amounts of existing content.

This is the first such case in Canada, though numerous lawsuits are underway in the United States, including a case by the New York Times against the OpenAI and Microsoft.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2024.

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Torstar Corporation and a related company of the Globe and Mail hold investments in The Canadian Press.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press