Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringement
Nearly 400 newspapers are now suing OpenAI and Microsoft. Here's what changes for AI builders.
Why it matters
Copyright litigation against AI companies is escalating from marquee outlets (NYT, Ziff Davis) to regional publishers en masse. This signals growing legal risk for training-data practices and potential precedent-setting on fair use in the generative AI era.
The key facts
11 to knowSeattle Times and Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement
Nearly 400 local newspapers have joined similar litigation
Prior suits filed by: New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, Encyclopedia Britannica
Allegation: unpermissioned use of journalism as training data; model outputs reproduce passages from reporting
Microsoft named as defendant because Copilot built on OpenAI technology
Published September 6, 2026 (future-dated article — timestamp anomaly noted)
Allegations: unauthorized use of journalism as training data; model outputs reproduce passages from reporting
Similar lawsuits filed by The New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, Encyclopedia Britannica
Nearly 400 local newspapers have recently sued OpenAI and Microsoft
Microsoft named as defendant because Copilot is built on OpenAI's technology
Published September 6, 2026 (appears to be a future date; verify timeliness)
Go to the source
The Verge AItheverge.com
Publisher excerpt: The OpenAI logo is displayed on a smartphone screen placed on a reflective surface on which the company's logo is projected in Creteil, France, on September 4, 2026, as OpenAI began rolling out GPT-6 Astra, its most advanced model to date. (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images) |…