OpenAI is resisting efforts by Indian media giants, including those associated with Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, to join a copyright lawsuit concerning AI training data. According to a legal filing seen by Reuters, OpenAI has stated that it does not use content from these media groups to train ChatGPT and is attempting to prevent their involvement in the case.
The Microsoft-backed AI company argued that it is not required to form partnerships with media organizations to use publicly available content. The details of this stance were outlined in a 31-page court filing, which Reuters has reported for the first time.
This legal dispute stems from a lawsuit filed last year by Indian news agency ANI, which accused OpenAI of using its published content without authorization to train its chatbot. Since then, several Indian media organizations, including Adani’s NDTV, the Indian Express, the Hindustan Times, and the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA)—which represents outlets such as Ambani’s Network18—have joined the legal battle. These groups claim OpenAI has been scraping content from their websites and reproducing it on ChatGPT.
In its filing dated February 11, OpenAI denied using any content from the media groups or DNPA members to train its AI models. Neither OpenAI nor its legal representatives immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment. Similarly, the DNPA and other media organizations have yet to issue a statement.
OpenAI has previously stated that it builds AI models using publicly available data, adhering to fair use principles and legal precedents. Lawsuits from authors, musicians, and media organizations worldwide are challenging technology companies over the alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted materials for AI training.
Although OpenAI has signed content agreements with numerous news publishers globally, Indian media groups claim the company has not pursued similar deals in India. However, OpenAI clarified in its court filing that its agreements abroad are not specifically for AI training purposes. It further asserted that using publicly available content complies with Indian copyright laws.
Last week, during his tour of Asia, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited India and met with the country’s IT minister in New Delhi to discuss India’s plans for developing a low-cost AI ecosystem.
