The suit alleged that OpenAI removed identifying information—such as author names, titles, and metadata—while using their content to train its AI.
The publications argued that this action violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by stripping away essential “copyright management information.”
However, McMahon ruled that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate “a cognizable injury,” and noted that the chance of ChatGPT producing verbatim content from their articles was “remote.”
Plaintiffs Plan to Fight On
Despite the ruling, Raw Story and AlterNet are not giving up. Attorney Matt Topic, representing the plaintiffs, expressed confidence in addressing the court’s concerns with an amended complaint. He emphasized that OpenAI’s practices might mislead users, as the chatbot’s responses could unintentionally convey copyrighted information.
Financial Stakes
Beyond individual cases, there is substantial financial risk for Microsoft and OpenAI.
Both companies offer an “opt-out” system for website owners to avoid use of their content in AI training. This suggests an acknowledgment of the potential for copyright infringement.
