The lawsuit by Canadian media outlets demands that OpenAI stop stealing content

Nov. 30 (UPI) — Several major Canadian news outlets are suing OpenAI, the California-based maker of ChatGPT, for using its content to improve the program’s software.

The coalition includes, among others, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Toronto Star, the Canadian Press and the Globe and Mail, and was filed Friday in Ontario Superior Court.

Media agencies are seeking sanctions damages up to $20,000 per item used. The amount could reach billions of dollars.

I am too asking the court to prohibit the tech giant to use its content in the future, in what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind in Canada.

The news outlets said the use of their intellectual property “must be on fair terms.”

Court documents show the coalition accuses OpenAI of ignoring copyright disclaimers in accessing its members’ content to train its ChatGPT software.

“OpenAI regularly violates copyright and terms of use online by removing large amounts of content from Canadian media to help develop its products such as ChatGPT. OpenAI exploits and profits from the use of this content without obtaining permission or compensating the content owners.” THE the coalition said in a statement.

“OpenAI’s public statements that it is somehow right or in the public interest for them to use other companies’ intellectual property for their own commercial gain are wrong. Journalism is in the public interest. OpenAI using other companies’ journalism for their own commercial gain is not illegal.”

In response, OpenAI said it was not breaking any laws.

“We work closely with news publishers, including displaying, attributing and linking to their content in ChatGPT search, and provide easy ways for them to opt out if they wish to do so,” the company said in a statement to CBC.

“Hundreds of millions of people around the world rely on ChatGPT to improve their daily lives, inspire creativity and solve tough problems. Our models are trained on publicly available data, based on fair use and international copyright principles that are fair to creators and support innovation,” a company spokesperson said. said the Toronto Star.

“We will not stand by while tech companies steal our content. While we embrace the opportunities that technological innovation can bring, all participants must comply with the law and any use of our intellectual property must be on fair terms,” ​​Neil Oliver, CEO of the publication’s parent company, Torstar Corporation, formerly for 131 years, he wrote in response in the same story.