Why Indian Media Organisations Are Suing Open AI
They Claim ChatGPT’s Unauthorised Training on Copyrighted Content
February 9, 2025
Leading Indian news outlets want to join a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming it used their copyrighted content without authorisation to train ChatGPT. They are seeking damages and a legal directive to stop the alleged misuse of their material.
Asian News International (ANI) initiated legal proceedings against OpenAI in the Delhi High Court in November 2024, seeking damages of 20 million rupees (2 crore) and a court order preventing the U.S.-based company from further use or storage of its copyrighted material. Now, other media organisations, including The Indian Express, The Hindu, the India Today group and Gautam Adani-owned NDTV, are seeking to join the lawsuit, according to the BBC.
ANI’s petition accuses OpenAI of using ANI’s copyrighted materials to train ChatGPT without permission, thereby enriching the chatbot and undermining ANI’s intellectual property. ANI’s lawsuit states that some of its articles appear verbatim in ChatGPT responses and that the tool occasionally associates fabricated statements with the agency. Both these factors damage the agency’s credibility and mislead the public, states the petitioner.
These other media outlets also claim that OpenAI employed their content without authorisation. They note that while OpenAI has licensing arrangements with certain international publishers, it has not initiated similar deals in India.
The Federation of Indian Publishers, representing about 80% of publishing houses in the country, has added its voice to the dispute, citing concerns over how generative AI systems gather and process written content.
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) and three other media organisations have filed requests to join as well, arguing that the alleged content misuse could harm India’s entire news industry.
OpenAI has challenged the participation of new applicants in the lawsuit, and their applications are currently pending.
OpenAI, for its part, states that ChatGPT relies on “publicly available data” in line with established legal practices and that the chatbot is not a direct replacement for paid news services. OpenAI adds that it blocked ANI’s website from future data crawling once ANI raised its complaints. The organisation has also argued that the Delhi High Court lacks jurisdiction because OpenAI and its servers are based outside of India, and training did not occur within the country.
OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman visited India to meet with the IT minister and discuss the country’s low-cost AI initiatives. During his trip, he remarked that India “should be one of the leaders of the AI revolution” and referred to the nation as a crucial market for OpenAI.
Publishers around the world are increasingly concerned that AI chatbot technology might undermine their content and revenue by repurposing it without compensation. While some in the industry see potential for innovation through personalised reader interactions and data-driven insights, others are wary of the risks and constraints associated with these technologies. They fear that unchecked AI could dilute the value of original content, impacting their financial stability.
“If AI-driven search is not effective at driving traffic to original content, it has the potential to undermine the media industry entirely,” Nick Shelton, founder and director of Australian culture publication Broadsheet, told The Current, back in March 2023. “I’m hopeful that the relevant stakeholders — AI and search, industry, media industry, and governments — recognize what’s at stake and are motivated to align incentives.”
