Major Indian News Agency Sues OpenAI Over Copyright and AI Hallucinations
Asian News International initiates India's first copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the AI company of unauthorized training and generating fabricated news. The Delhi High Court schedules a detailed hearing for January to examine the complex legal and technical implications.
Asian News International (ANI), one of India's largest news agencies, sues OpenAI in the Delhi High Court for allegedly using its copyrighted content to train AI models. The lawsuit represents the first time an Indian media organization takes legal action against OpenAI over copyright claims. ANI accuses the AI company of not only illegally exploiting its content but also generating false information that is incorrectly attributed to the news agency.
During the initial hearing, Justice Amit Bansal issues a summons to OpenAI but declines to grant an immediate injunction, noting the complex nature of the case. OpenAI's legal counsel argues that copyright laws do not protect facts and points out that ChatGPT allows websites to opt out of data collection. The company also claims the suit lacks jurisdiction since it operates no servers in India, while ANI's lawyer counters that public availability does not grant the right to exploit content.
ANI expresses particular concern about AI "hallucinations," citing a fabricated interview with a prominent political leader that ChatGPT falsely attributed to the agency. The court plans to appoint an independent expert to advise on the copyright implications of AI models using publicly available content. This lawsuit adds to mounting global pressure on OpenAI, which currently faces over a dozen similar copyright lawsuits in the U.S., Canada, and Germany.