The New York Times recently filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI! the creator of ChatGPT! and Microsoft! its main investor. According to the American daily! both entities used its work to develop and market their generative artificial intelligence (AI ) products without obtaining permission from the Times [8].
The Times’ complaint points out that the defendants’ massively generative AI learning models were built by copying and using millions of copyrighted Times articles. The newspaper estimates the damages suffered! both factually and legally! at “multi-billion dollars.”[8]
The challenges of AI and copyright
The issue of copyright infringement by AI is complex. To establish copyright infringement in a work that has contributed to training an AI! it must be shown that the output produced by the AI is a overseas chinese in usa data reproduction of the original work [5]. However! AI like ChatGPT works by collecting data to train the tool! which may include information! creations! signs or inventions protected by intellectual property rights [5].
In the ChatGPT case! the model was trained on a large corpus of text! including millions of articles from the New York Times. The plaintiffs claim that! in training their models! the defendants reproduced copyrighted materials in order to exploit the expressive elements contained therein! such as style! word choice! arrangement! and presentation of facts [2].
However! the question of whether the acts of data collection and their integration into AI constitute copyright infringement is still debated. Several litigations are ongoing on this point around the world [5].
Towards new regulations?
Faced with these challenges! some experts suggest using a third party app to transfer data creating a sui generis right allowing a return on investment for creators of content used to train AI. This right would confer a patrimonial monopoly! similar to that conferred on sports federations and organizers of sporting events [9].
However! this proposal raises other questions! notably that of the applicability of copyright to these creations and that of the protection of works against algorithmic processing [9].
In conclusion! the New The New York Times vs. York Times atb directory case against OpenAI and Microsoft highlights the urgent need to clarify the legal framework applicable to AI and copyright. It is essential to find a balance between protecting the rights of content creators and the development of innovative technologies such as AI.
