Asian News International (ANI), one of India’s leading news agencies, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of using its copyrighted content without authorisation.
The case, lodged at the Delhi High Court, centres on allegations that OpenAI utilised ANI’s material to train its AI models, resulting in the generation of fabricated news content falsely attributed to the agency.
In the court filing, ANI spoke about the misuse of its intellectual property, specifically pointing to instances where OpenAI’s ChatGPT attributed non-existent interviews and false information to the agency.
ANI argued that such “hallucinations” by the AI platform cause a serious threat to its credibility and could lead to public misinformation.
During the preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Justice Amit Bansal summoned OpenAI to respond to the assertions but refrained from issuing an injunction.
The judge noted that the case involves complex legal and technical issues requiring a thorough examination. The next hearing is set for January.
OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, responded by asserting that its AI models are developed using publicly accessible data under fair use principles.
The company’s counsel, Amit Sibal, further argued that copyright laws do not extend to factual information and noted that OpenAI allows publishers to opt out of data collection.
Again, the firm pointed out that it has no servers in India and questioned the court’s jurisdiction over the matter.
ANI’s legal representation, however, countered that public availability does not equate to permission for commercial exploitation.
The agency cited particular concerns about reputational damage and the possibility of public disorder caused by false content.
The court has revealed its intention to appoint an independent expert to analyse the copyright implications of AI systems relying on publicly available materials.
The appointed expert will also examine how news content circulates across digital platforms and its relevance to the case.
OpenAI is already facing several similar lawsuits in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Germany.
ANI’s complaint emphasised that while OpenAI has entered licensing agreements with organisations like the Financial Times and Associated Press, it failed to secure similar permissions from ANI.
