Chicago Tribune Sues AI Search Engine Perplexity for Copyright Infringement
The Chicago Tribune has taken legal action against the AI search engine Perplexity, alleging copyright infringement. The lawsuit, which surfaced on Thursday, has been filed in a federal court in New York and raises questions about the use of news content by AI technologies.
Key Updates on the Lawsuit
According to documents reviewed by TechCrunch, the Tribune claims its lawyers reached out to Perplexity in mid-October. They sought clarification on whether the AI search engine was utilizing content from the newspaper. Perplexity’s legal team purportedly responded that they do not train their models using the Tribune’s material, noting they “may receive non-verbatim factual summaries.”
Accusations of Verbatim Content Use
Despite this response, the Tribune’s legal representation argues that Perplexity is providing its content in a verbatim manner, which raises significant copyright concerns. Notably, the Tribune’s lawyers are emphasizing that Perplexity employs a retrieval augmented generation (RAG) technique that might involve using unlicensed material directly from their articles, scraped without authorization.
Scraping and Paywall Allegations
The lawsuit specifically mentions how Perplexity’s Comet browser allegedly bypasses the Tribune’s paywall, enabling it to deliver detailed summaries of articles directly to users. This tactic, if proven, may highlight a broader issue regarding the ethical use of news content by AI technology and the potential infringement on intellectual property rights.
Wider Context: Ongoing Legal Battles
The Tribune’s lawsuit is part of a larger trend in which multiple news organizations are taking legal action against AI companies. In April, the Tribune joined 16 other publications from MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing in suing OpenAI and Microsoft over similar concerns related to model training materials. Additionally, another nine publishers filed a lawsuit against the AI company and its cloud provider in November.
Reactions and Implications
As the legal landscape evolves, the outcome of this case may have significant implications for the future of AI technologies and their relationship with content creators. Creators have increasingly expressed concerns about how their work is used in training AI models without consent. The legal liabilities surrounding retrieval augmented generation (RAG) methods will likely come under scrutiny as courts weigh the responsibilities of AI companies.
Perplexity’s Response and Industry Impact
As of now, Perplexity has not provided a public comment regarding the Chicago Tribune’s lawsuit or a request for commentary from TechCrunch. The company is not alone in facing such litigation; it is currently embroiled in similar lawsuits from other prominent entities, including Reddit and Dow Jones, the latter of which has also initiated its own legal action recently over content use disputes.
Final Thoughts
This situation underscores the growing tension between traditional media outlets and emerging AI technologies. As legal precedents are set, the landscape of content creation, distribution, and copyright enforcement may undergo fundamental changes, impacting how news is consumed in the digital age. For the latest updates on this developing story, stay tuned.
