Indian book publishers and their international partners have initiated a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, a representative announced on Friday. This action is part of a broader effort worldwide to prevent the ChatGPT chatbot from using proprietary content.
Authors, news organizations, and musicians globally are bringing claims against tech companies, alleging that their copyrighted works are being used to train AI services without permission. They are demanding the removal of such content from AI training datasets.
The Federation of Indian Publishers, based in New Delhi, informed Reuters that it has filed a case in the Delhi High Court, which is already considering a similar lawsuit against OpenAI.
This case represents all members of the federation, including notable publishers like Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Cambridge University Press, Pan Macmillan, as well as India’s Rupa Publications and S.Chand and Co.
Pranav Gupta, the federation’s general secretary, stated in an interview that they are asking the court to prevent OpenAI from accessing their copyrighted content. He emphasized that if OpenAI does not wish to negotiate licensing, they should remove the datasets used for AI training and clarify how they will be compensated, as this issue affects creativity.
OpenAI has not commented on the lawsuit or the allegations, which were filed in December but are being reported now for the first time. The company has consistently denied such claims, asserting that its AI systems utilize publicly available data fairly.
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, OpenAI has sparked significant investment and interest in generative AI, aiming to lead in the AI sector after raising $6.6 billion last year.
The group of Indian book publishers is looking to join the lawsuit filed by Indian news agency ANI against OpenAI, which is currently the most prominent legal case on this matter in the country.
These cases mark an important turning point and could influence the future legal landscape for AI in India. “The ruling will evaluate how to balance intellectual property protection with technological progress,” stated Siddharth Chandrashekhar, a lawyer from Mumbai.
In response to the ANI case, OpenAI mentioned in comments reported by Reuters this week that any directive to remove training data would breach its legal obligations in the U.S., asserting that Indian judges lack jurisdiction over a copyright case against the company since its servers are located overseas.
The federation argued that since OpenAI provides services in India, its operations should be subject to Indian laws.
Reuters, which owns a 26% stake in ANI, clarified in a statement that it does not engage in ANI’s business practices or operations.
Last year, OpenAI made its first hire in India, bringing on former WhatsApp executive Pragya Misra to oversee public policy and partnerships in a country of 1.4 billion people, where millions are gaining internet access due to affordable mobile data.
