OpenAI faces new copyright case, from global publishers in India
24/01/2025 14:43
*
OpenAI faces growing legal challenges in India
*
After local news agency, book publishers mount challenge
*
Book publishers worried ChatGPT produces summaries
*
Cases to shape the future of AI use in India, lawyer says
By Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi, Munsif Vengattil
NEW DELHI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Indian book publishers and
their international counterparts have filed a copyright lawsuit
against OpenAI in New Delhi, a representative said on Friday,
the latest in a series of global cases seeking to stop the
ChatGPT chatbot accessing proprietary content.
Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news
outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their
copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have
content used to train the chatbot deleted.
The New Delhi-based Federation of Indian Publishers told
Reuters it had filed a case at the Delhi High Court, which is
already hearing a similar lawsuit against OpenAI.
The case was filed on behalf of all the federation's
members, who include publishers like Bloomsbury BLPU.L ,
Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press and Pan
Macmillan, as well as India's Rupa Publications and S.Chand and
Co, it said.
"Our ask from the court is that they should stop (OpenAI
from) accessing our copyright content," Pranav Gupta, the
federation's general secretary said in an interview about the
lawsuit, which concerns the ChatGPT tool's book summaries.
"In case they don't want to do licensing with us, they
should delete datasets used in AI training and explain how we
will be compensated. This impacts creativity," he added.
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the
allegations and the lawsuit, which was filed in December but is
being reported here for the first time. It has repeatedly denied
such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of
publicly available data.
OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate
frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT.
It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion
last year.
The Indian book publishers' group is seeking to join Indian news
agency ANI's lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which
is the most high-profile legal proceeding in the nation on this
subject.
"These cases represent a pivotal moment and can potentially
shape the future legal framework on AI in India. The judgment
passed here will test the balance between protecting IP and
promoting tech advancement," said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a
Mumbai based lawyer.
Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in comments reported by
Reuters this week that any order to delete training data would
result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian
judges have no right to hear a copyright case against the
company as its servers are located abroad.
The federation said OpenAI offers services in India so its
activities should fall under Indian laws.
Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a
statement it is not involved in its business practices or
operations.
OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped
former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy
and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people, where
millions of new users are going online, thanks to cheap mobile
data prices.
WORRIES OVER BOOK SUMMARIES
A Reuters reporter asked ChatGPT on Friday for details of
the first volume of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling,
published by Bloomsbury. The AI tool responded with a
chapter-by-chapter summary and a key events summary including
the story's climax.
It stopped short of giving the actual text, however, saying,
"I cannot provide the entire text of the book, as it is
copyrighted material."
Penguin Random House in November said it has started a global
initiative to include a statement on the copyright page of its
titles saying "no part of this book may be used or reproduced in
any manner for the purpose of training" AI technologies.
The Indian federation's December filing, which was seen by
Reuters, argues it has obtained "credible evidence/information"
from its members that OpenAI used their literary works to train
its ChatGPT service.
"This free tool produces book summaries, extracts, why would
people buy books then?" Gupta said, referring to AI chatbots
using extracts from unlicensed online copies. "This will impact
our sales, all members are concerned about this."
The federation's plea has so far only been listed before a
court registrar in New Delhi who on Jan 10 asked OpenAI to
respond in the matter. A judge will now hear the case on Jan.
28.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi and Munsif
Vengattil; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
((mailto:Arpan.Chaturvedi@thomsonreuters.com;))