The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), alongside its members such as Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and NDTV, has chosen to join news agency ANI’s lawsuit against OpenAI in the Delhi High Court. ANI previously filed this lawsuit, claiming that OpenAI made unauthorized use of its copyrighted content.
The DNPA represents India’s prominent digital news platforms, encompassing the digital divisions of major print and broadcasting media organizations.
The application includes members like Dainik Bhaskar, Indian Express, Malayala Manorama, ETV, India Today Group, Amar Ujala, Hindustan Times, Zee Media, ABP Network, Lokmat, NDTV, The New Indian Express, Mathrubhumi, The Hindu, Network 18, India TV, and Deccan Herald, among others.
According to a document obtained by Businessline, DNPA and its members have submitted an “instant application seeking the Court’s permission” to participate in ANI’s lawsuit. They aim to express their views on “the novel legal questions” raised by the case and issues identified by the Court.
In its statement, DNPA emphasized the pressing concerns voiced by digital news publishers regarding “unauthorized mass copying and the use of copyrighted works to train AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT models.”
On November 18, 2024, the Delhi High Court acknowledged and outlined several critical legal issues arising from the ANI v. OpenAI case. The DNPA mentioned that these questions focus on what it perceives as OpenAI’s extensive and unlawful use of Indian copyrighted material, which could have significant consequences for intellectual property rights in the digital era and the news sector in India.
The industry association argues that companies like OpenAI have created large language models (LLMs) by training them on vast amounts of text, including copyright-protected works, without proper licenses or permissions. This misuse of copyrighted material disproportionately benefits OpenAI and its investors, while negatively impacting the creative efforts across India’s media landscape. Additionally, the DNPA contends that OpenAI’s appropriation of news content poses a growing risk to press transparency in India.
Highlighting a lack of sufficient transparency and disclosure in OpenAI’s actions and AI models, DNPA expressed concern about the potential for these models to exacerbate online misinformation amid the rising threats of disinformation and deepfakes. The DNPA worries that this trend could diminish the quality, reliability, and diversity of news content in India, ultimately subjecting the public to unpredictable algorithmic decisions.
Furthermore, the DNPA pointed out that OpenAI has established licensing agreements with international news publishers such as the Associated Press, The Atlantic, and News Corp to access their content for training its models and incorporating it into its outputs. This admission, the DNPA argues, highlights OpenAI’s need for licenses or permission to use such content for training AI models.
