The New York Times против OpenAI: газета потратила $20 млн на иск об авторских правах

The New York Times has been locked in litigation against OpenAI and Microsoft since 2023 over copyright infringement and, according to Wired, has already spent more than $20 million on the case — meanwhile the paper's publisher A.G. Sulzberger (Arthur Gregg Sulzberger) has no intention of stopping the fight.

What The New York Times is suing over

The New York Times accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of illegally using its material: according to the paper, millions of its articles were used to train language models, including ChatGPT, without permission or payment. The lawsuit was filed in 2023 and became one of the most high-profile clashes between traditional media and the generative AI industry. The core of the claim is simple: the newspaper spent years investing money in reporting, and AI companies, in its view, turned that work into fuel for commercial products for free.

Key facts of the case:

• The lawsuit was filed in 2023 against OpenAI and Microsoft
• The grounds are copyright infringement
• The newspaper's spending on the case exceeds $20 million
• NYT material was, according to the plaintiff, used to train AI without consent
• Publisher A.G. Sulzberger publicly refuses to back down

How much this fight costs

The New York Times has spent more than $20 million on the legal process in just under three years since filing the lawsuit in 2023. It is a rare case of a media company willing to invest eight-figure sums in a legal precedent instead of seeking a quick licensing deal. For the newspaper, the question is one of principle: the dispute is about whether commercial AI models can be trained on copyrighted content without the rights holder's permission. The scale of the spending shows that for NYT this is not a one-off legal formality but a long strategic war the paper is prepared to wage for years.

The refusal of a quick settlement sets The New York Times apart from part of the industry. The paper is betting not on a one-time payment but on a legal precedent that will secure publishers' right to demand payment for the use of their archives. At a cost of more than $20 million, NYT is effectively funding a dispute whose outcome other media outlets will also benefit from.

What is at stake for media

The outcome of the case will set the rules of the game for the entire media industry in the era of generative AI. If the court sides with The New York Times, model developers will have to license content and pay publishers for the texts they used. If OpenAI and Microsoft win, training on publicly available material will remain essentially free. This precedent will determine whether journalism retains economic value in a world where AI has learned to retell and rewrite news in seconds.

According to A.G.

Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, the paper has no plans to stop the legal fight — he said this on Wired's podcast "The Big Interview."

What this means

The New York Times' conflict with OpenAI is not just a dispute between two companies, but a test of who will control the value of journalism in the age of AI. The sides have not reached an agreement, and NYT is prepared to keep litigating despite the multimillion-dollar costs.

Frequently asked questions

Why did The New York Times sue OpenAI?

The New York Times believes OpenAI and Microsoft used its articles to train language models without permission or payment, which violates copyright. The lawsuit was filed in 2023.

How much has

The New York Times spent on the lawsuit against OpenAI?

According to Wired, the newspaper has spent more than $20 million on the legal process, and publisher A.G. Sulzberger has no plans to stop.