NYT slams Microsoft for building copyright-infringing supercomputer for OpenAI
The New York Times has amended its copyright lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging that Microsoft intentionally designed a custom supercomputer specifically to enable large-scale unauthorized use of copyrighted content for AI model training, with evidence showing ChatGPT outputs near-verbatim excerpts and can be used to circumvent paywalls. This case establishes a critical precedent for technology leaders on corporate liability for enabling IP infringement through infrastructure investments, and the alleged $1 trillion market cap boost from AI-trained on stolen content underscores the significant competitive and financial stakes. IT organizations must now recognize that infrastructure decisions—particularly those enabling third-party model training—carry substantial legal, reputational, and fiduciary risks requiring robust content rights governance.
In a heavily redacted court filing Thursday, The New York Times proposed to amend its copyright complaint against OpenAI and Microsoft to clarify a claim and allege that Microsoft actively encouraged OpenAI to steal NYT works by building a bespoke supercomputing system ranked among the most powerful in the world. NYT's motion comes after the Supreme Court sided with Cox Communications in a case where Sony tried and failed to claim that Cox was contributing to music piracy as an Internet service provider, which set a new standard for contributory infringement. Moving forward, plaintiffs will have to prove that parties intentionally acted to induce illegal conduct. Recognizing that the legal precedent has changed, the NYT now wants to amend its complaint to align its contributory infringement claim against Microsoft with that new standard. “Today, we asked the court for permission to file an amended complaint that further strengthens our case, clarifying our claim of contributory infringement against Microsoft based on new law and new evidence uncovered during discovery,” Graham James, an NYT spokesperson, said in a statement provided to Ars.Read full article Comments
