Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged training-data use
Two major publishers have sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging their journalism was used to train AI systems without permission.
The Seattle Times and Newsday have sued OpenAI and Microsoft over the alleged use of their journalism in AI training. The case adds two more publishers to the widening legal fight over whether model developers can use news reporting without a licence — and what should happen when generated answers reproduce passages from that reporting.
What’s actually going on
The Verge reports that the publishers allege their journalism was used as AI training data without permission and that model responses reproduce passages from their reporting. Microsoft is named because Copilot uses OpenAI technology. The publishers are seeking the destruction of copies of their works, training datasets and AI models incorporating those works. The report says neither company had responded immediately at publication time, and The Verge notes the publishers join nearly 400 local newspapers that recently sued the companies — a reported figure that remains unverified. Liability has not been determined.
Why you should care
The dispute matters because publishers are challenging whether AI companies can absorb journalism, answer questions from it and compete with the original reporting without paying for access. The outcome could shape how news organisations and AI platforms coexist — or don’t.
Our opinion
Publishers have every right to test this in court, but this is an important lawsuit, not a verdict. The claims deserve scrutiny on the evidence and copyright law, and the remedies sought are unusually drastic. Watch how courts weigh training against reproduction before assuming either side has already won.