OpenAI Faces Lawsuit from Canadian Media Outlets for Unauthorised Content Use

Canada’s leading news organisations have filed a lawsuit against tech giant OpenAI, accusing the company of "strip-mining journalism" and profiting unfairly by using their news articles to train its widely-used ChatGPT software.

Filed last week in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, the lawsuit demands punitive damages, a share of OpenAI's profits derived from the use of their content, and an injunction preventing the company from using any of their articles in the future.

The plaintiffs include prominent media outlets such as The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, the CBC, the Toronto Star, Metroland Media, and Postmedia.

“The defendants have engaged in ongoing, deliberate and unauthorized misappropriation of the plaintiffs’ valuable news media works,” said the statement of claim filed by the news organisations.

They are seeking up to C$20,000 in damages for each article OpenAI allegedly used, with potential damages reaching into the billions if the case succeeds.

This lawsuit adds to a growing wave of legal challenges against OpenAI by several news outlets, including The New York Times, Raw Story and AlterNet.