USA Today sues OpenAI for copyright infringement over AI training
Key Summary
USA Today and 18 affiliated newspapers are suing OpenAI for allegedly training its AI models on their journalism without permission or compensation. The complaint claims OpenAI used hundreds of thousands of articles from the plaintiffs' publications to build its AI systems, with 83,266 allegedly coming from USA Today alone. The publishers seek over $250 million in damages and the destruction of models trained on their content.
USA Today Sues OpenAI for Alleged Copyright Infringement on AI Training
Allegations of Unauthorized Use of Content
USA Today Co. and 18 affiliated newspapers have taken OpenAI to federal court, alleging that the ChatGPT maker trained its AI models on their journalism without asking or paying. The complaint claims that OpenAI used hundreds of thousands of articles from the plaintiffs' publications to build its AI systems.
Details of the Complaint
According to the filing, none of the material was licensed. The publishers back the claim with specific numbers. The complaint says that more than 160,000 entries from the plaintiffs' domains appear in OpenAI's WebText corpus, a collection of web text used to train language models. Of those, 83,266 allegedly came from usatoday.com alone.
Impact on AI Models
The suit goes further than the training stage. It points to the capabilities of GPT-5.6, alleging that the model's outputs mirror both the structure and the content of the original articles.
Damages and Injunctive Relief
The publishers are seeking over $250 million in damages and the destruction of models allegedly trained on their journalism. Statutory damages could potentially reach up to $150,000 per willful infringement, according to the filing's framing. The publishers also seek $25,000 per DMCA violation involving CMI removal. The plaintiffs are also asking for injunctive relief, which would bar OpenAI from continuing the alleged conduct.
Background
USA Today is not the first to bring a lawsuit against OpenAI. The New York Times has already brought its own case against OpenAI, as has The Intercept. A coalition of nearly 400 local papers has filed similar claims too. The specificity of this complaint stands out, naming the WebText corpus and attaching a count of 83,266 usatoday.com entries.