The Delhi High Court has summoned OpenAI after news outlet ANI accused the American artificial intelligence company of copyright infringement by using their content for training and operating ChatGPT.
Justice Amit Bansal recorded OpenAI’s statement stating that ANI’s official website is blocked, thus preventing openAI ChatGPT from using its content.
ANI’s Claims
Advocate Sidhant Kumar, appearing on behalf of ANI, submitted that the news agency’s copyrighted articles were used to train the chatbot while attributing false information.
Open AI trains its large language models (LLMs) using news information from various outlets, enabling chatbots to answer questions quickly. These models can generate content based on the news data they’ve processed. However, this raises concerns about potential copyright infringement, as the chatbots may produce responses that resemble or replicate parts of the original news content.
According to Bar and Bench, along with claims of copyright infringement, there were also claims of training the chatbot and that ChatGPT was attributing false information to it. Kumar sighted a practical difficulty for news wires as the content is from other websites.
Advocate Sidhant Kumar said, appearing on behalf of ANI that ChatGPT is a digital tool that is “capable of… adapting its behaviour”. He explained to the court how the artificial intelligence app functions- the software has public data which is part of the content available for training it.
Kumar stated that an AI program cannot exploit or copy public news. ANI claimed ChatGPT of attributing false information to it.
Kumar argued the service falsely attributed an interview to him, incorrectly reporting Rahul Gandhi as giving an interview to ANI, which never occurred, spreading fake AI news and violating his rights.
Kumar said OpenAI offered to block its website to prevent data collection by ChatGPT but noted the challenge for news wires, as other sites and organizations often reproduce their content.
The Court’s Opinion
The court said that they would examine this particular issue later.
New York Times Also Sued OpenAI for Concerns Over Copyright Infringement and Fair Use
Recently even the New York Times sued OpenAI for the unauthorised use of their content for training their platforms. Not just OpenAI, AI intelligence like Microsoft’s Copiliot and Google’s Bard have faced similar lawsuits.
It’s crucial to note that ANI’s suit was the first case of its kind against open artificial intelligence in India. Comparatively, there have been 13 lawsuits in the USA, 2 in Canada and 1 in Germany since 2022.
The plaintiff’s lawyer clarified that no court outside of India has claimed copyright in gathering information by the model.
He further said that there’s “…no monopoly on facts…” If anyone does not want their data accessed they can block the tool.
OpenAI in India
The Open AI company does not have any servers in India.
It was argued that there is no instance in the current case where the plaintiff has shown reproduction of their material, and therefore, ANI has no cause of action in India.
Sibal contended that copyright laws protect expression, rather than facts or ideas.
While the case addresses copyright infringement, registering your work is key to securing legal protection.
Protect Your Work with Copyright Registration
Registering your original work, and granting exclusive rights to use, distribute, and license it, give you legal advantages and protect against copyright infringement.
Copyright registration is simply the process of officially registering your creative work with the government. It proves you are the owner, gives you legal protection and he, as if someone tries to copy or steal your work. Plus, it opens up legal options if needed.
Learn more about the seamless registration process for copyright at E-Startup India.
7 Things to Do When You Receive a Copyright Infringement Notice
Moreover, If you want any other guidance relating to Copyright Registration online or , please feel free to talk to our business advisors at 8881-069-069.
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