On Tuesday, Microsoft-backed OpenAI attempted to prevent India's major media organizations, including businesses owned by billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, from participating in a copyright lawsuit. The lawsuit is crucial in establishing the legal landscape for artificial intelligence (AI) in India.
Globally, courts are handling cases filed by authors, news outlets, and musicians against tech companies for using their copyrighted material to train AI services without proper authorization. India ranks as OpenAI's second-largest market after the United States.
The legal battle initiated last year in India by local news agency ANI. Recently, several book publishers and numerous digital media platforms, including those linked to Adani and Ambani, have shown interest in joining the lawsuit to challenge OpenAI.
In response, OpenAI sought to dismiss the book publisher's case, arguing that its ChatGPT service solely shares public information. Additionally, OpenAI's lawyer, Amit Sibal, expressed opposition towards the media organizations' bid to join the case, stating, "I have an objection, I wish to file a reply."
The case is scheduled for further proceedings in February. OpenAI asserts that it adheres to fair use principles by using publicly accessible data. The organization has also contended that Indian courts lack jurisdiction over its operations due to its servers being situated abroad.
During the hearing, Sibal from OpenAI engaged in disputes with opposing counsels regarding media coverage of the lawsuit. OpenAI raised concerns about articles based on confidential material, prompting accusations of unfairness by the media group's attorney, Ameet Datta.
The Federation of Indian Publishers, representing companies like Bloomsbury and Penguin Random House, alleges that ChatGPT generates book summaries using unauthorized content, a claim refuted by OpenAI. Furthermore, digital news entities from major Indian media conglomerates are seeking to join the lawsuit, asserting that ChatGPT reproduces their content without permission by scraping from their websites.