(Commonwealth_India) A significant legal challenge has emerged in India against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, with a coalition of media outlets led by Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani‘s digital news units, alongside major publications like the Indian Express and Hindustan Times, accusing the company of unlawfully using their copyrighted content. These media organizations, including Adani’s NDTV and Ambani’s Network18, have filed legal complaints in a New Delhi court, arguing that OpenAI’s AI technology, such as ChatGPT, has been scraping their websites without permission to harvest and reproduce their work for use in training the AI model.
The ongoing case, which adds momentum to a larger legal battle in India, has seen multiple prominent media outlets join in their attempt to safeguard their intellectual property. The central concern for these publishers is that their copyrighted content—news articles, stories, and other journalistic works—may have been used to “train” the language model of ChatGPT, potentially violating their rights and threatening the commercial value of their media businesses. The court documents, which have been reviewed by Reuters but are not publicly available, highlight that these organizations are deeply concerned about the potential financial loss they could incur if their content continues to be exploited in this manner.
The legal filing references OpenAI’s alleged “willful scraping” of content from their websites, asserting that this behavior represents a clear infringement on their copyrights. As the case progresses, the publishers argue that OpenAI’s actions are not just illegal but also pose a broader threat to the creative economy in India, undermining the work of journalists and media companies.
This lawsuit forms part of a broader global trend where authors, musicians, and news agencies are raising similar complaints against tech giants over the use of their copyrighted works in training AI systems. Many of these plaintiffs claim they did not consent to their content being used in this way and want it removed from AI training sets. The case is also particularly significant because it involves high-profile media companies, many of which play a leading role in the Indian media landscape, with a mix of television, print, and digital platforms.
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which represents over 20 media companies—including giants like Zee News, India Today, Dainik Bhaskar, and the Hindu—is also involved in the filing. These organizations are particularly concerned that OpenAI’s AI model is benefiting from their intellectual property without any compensation or recognition. The DNPA has pointed out that while OpenAI has signed licensing agreements with international media outlets, it has not entered into any similar deals with Indian publishers, which only deepens the perceived inequity of the situation.
OpenAI, however, has responded to the allegations by denying any wrongdoing. The company has repeatedly stated that its AI models, including ChatGPT, are trained using publicly available information and that their usage constitutes “fair use” under copyright law. In addition, OpenAI has argued that any order to remove training data would conflict with its legal obligations in the United States, where it is headquartered, and that Indian courts would not have jurisdiction over such matters, given that OpenAI’s servers are based outside of India.
As the case continues, the focus is on whether the Indian courts will take a different stance than other jurisdictions where similar cases have been filed, especially given the rise of generative AI and its rapid global growth. The Indian publishers’ filing stresses that allowing OpenAI to continue its alleged practices without proper compensation could undermine the free press, an essential element of any functioning democracy. They contend that OpenAI’s operations could ultimately harm independent journalism, leaving media organizations without the financial resources to support their work, particularly in a country like India, where media consumption is rapidly growing and new digital news outlets are proliferating.
OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 set off a wave of interest in generative AI technologies, attracting billions of dollars in investment and sparking new consumer and corporate uses for AI models. OpenAI’s revenue ambitions are clear, as the company has aggressively expanded its business through collaborations and partnerships, including those with notable media outlets like Time, Le Monde, and the Financial Times. However, the Indian publishers argue that OpenAI’s lack of similar partnerships in India highlights a key discrepancy, one they believe results in unfair competition and damage to their operations.
The legal battle is set against the backdrop of OpenAI’s growing investment in India, a market that is rapidly adopting new technologies, driven by cheap mobile data and a growing internet user base. OpenAI made its first significant hire in India last year, bringing on Pragya Misra, a former executive from WhatsApp, to manage public policy and partnerships within the country. This move reflects the company’s interest in expanding its footprint in India, where there is immense potential for AI to reshape industries. However, the current legal challenges cast a shadow over OpenAI’s operations in the region and raise important questions about intellectual property rights in the era of generative AI.
The case has garnered significant attention, and its outcome could set important precedents for how copyright law is applied in the context of rapidly evolving AI technologies. As the legal proceedings unfold, Indian publishers are keen to ensure that their works are protected from unauthorized use and that they receive fair compensation for their contributions to the news ecosystem. This case will likely shape the future of AI development in India and could influence broader debates on the balance between innovation and intellectual property rights.
