News outlets ask court to give ‘little weight’ to DOJ support for OpenAI in copyright dispute

A group of news outlets suing OpenAI for copyright infringement argued Monday that the court should give “little weight” to the views of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which signaled support for the AI firm earlier this month.

The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and other outlets in the case suggested the administration “may have been influenced by extraneous considerations—up to and including the Administration’s political and financial interests.”

They pointed to the relationship between the Trump administration and AI companies, including donations.

“Although one could argue that political factors will always influence Government litigation positions to some extent, the nature, extent, and transparency of the AI industry’s efforts to influence this Administration should not be lightly dismissed,” the outlets added.

The Times initially sued OpenAI in 2023, accusing the company of improperly training AI models on the newspaper’s copyrighted content. It has since been joined by several other outlets.

OpenAI argues its actions fall under the “fair use” doctrine, which allows for the use of some copyrighted content without permission.

The Trump administration backed the company in a filing in early September, suggesting the news outlets’ interpretation of fair use “would thwart such creative and scientific progress while hindering American prosperity and economic mobility.”

The outlets underscored Monday that the government usually consults with the relevant government agencies before offering a statement of interest in a case. But Axios reported earlier this month that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright Office were taken by surprise.

“[T]he DOJ not only failed to consider the Copyright Office’s position—it attempts to undermine the Office’s position by accusing the Office of ‘threadbare reasoning’ and noting the Administration’s efforts to remove the Register of Copyrights,” the outlets added.

New York Times spokesperson Graham James said in a statement that the government’s filing “appears to be an effort to further enrich the world’s largest companies—and the Administration’s largest donors—while undermining this country’s free press.”

“Time and time again the American economy has shown that copyright protections aren’t at odds with innovation, but rather fuel it,” he added.