OpenAI is actively opposing the inclusion of Indian media companies, including those owned by Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, in a copyright lawsuit against the organization. This legal strategy is based on a filing reviewed by Reuters, which states that OpenAI does not utilize the content from these media groups to train its AI model, ChatGPT.
The Microsoft-backed firm asserts it is not required to establish partnership agreements with these media outlets to access their publicly available content. This argument is articulated in a 31-page document submitted in court, which Reuters has covered for the first time.
The lawsuit at the center of this issue was initiated last year by the Indian news agency ANI, which claims that ChatGPT is using its published material without authorization for training purposes. Following this, several Indian book publishers and media organizations have joined the legal proceedings.
Among the groups involved are Adani’s NDTV, the Indian Express, and the Hindustan Times. The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which advocates for numerous publishers, including Ambani’s Network18, has accused OpenAI of scraping content from their news platforms and reproducing this work via ChatGPT.
In its court submission dated February 11, OpenAI firmly denied using content from the applicants or the DNPA’s member sites to train its artificial intelligence models.
As of now, OpenAI and its legal representatives have not provided comments in response to inquiries from Reuters. Similarly, the DNPA and the other media organizations have not yet issued statements regarding the lawsuit.
OpenAI has previously noted, “We develop our AI models using publicly available data, in a manner protected by fair use and related doctrines, and in line with established legal precedents.”
Globally, courts are considering cases brought by authors, media organizations, and musicians who allege that technology firms are leveraging their copyrighted material to train AI services without receiving proper compensation or permission.
OpenAI has entered into agreements with a variety of global news publishers to showcase their content. However, the Indian media groups contend in their legal claims that OpenAI has not pursued similar arrangements within India.
The document filed by OpenAI points out that its partnerships abroad are not licensing agreements intended for the training of its AI models. The company also indicated that under Indian copyright law, the utilization of publicly available content is lawful.
Last week, during an Asian tour, OpenAI chief Sam Altman visited India and met with the country’s IT minister in New Delhi, discussing initiatives aimed at establishing a cost-effective AI ecosystem.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
