OpenAI Sued by CNET, IGN Owner Ziff Davis for Copyright Infringement

Ziff Davis, the parent company of several media brands including Mashable, Lifehacker, IGN and CNET, is suing OpenAI for copyright infringement — adding to a growing list of companies that have said ChatGPT is ripping off their content without consent.

To build and operate ChatGPT, “OpenAI has intentionally and relentlessly reproduced exact copies and created derivatives of Ziff Davis Works without Ziff Davis’s authorization,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in federal court in Delaware and obtained by TheWrap.

A rep for the company, which is led by CEO Sam Altman, told TheWrap that its models are “grounded in fair use” and do not violate copyright laws.

“ChatGPT helps enhance human creativity, advance scientific discovery and medical research, and enable hundreds of millions of people to improve their daily lives,” OpenAI said in its statement.

By using its content, OpenAI has blocked Ziff Davis from being able to fully “monetize user interactions through advertising, product sales commissions, and other revenue-producing activities,” the lawsuit claimed. And beyond lifting from Ziff Davis articles verbatim, the suit said OpenAI will “falsely attribute” certain answers to Ziff Davis outlets — a move that allegedly helps “tarnish” the media company and its brands.

The lawsuit comes as Ziff Davis’ business has had a rough year, with its share price dropping 40% since last April. It also comes as several other media companies are navigating their relationship with OpenAI; some companies, like News Corp. and the Washington Post, which just partnered with OpenAI this week, have struck licensing deals that allow ChatGPT to use their content.

But OpenAI is also facing lawsuits from The New York Times and New York Daily News, which have claimed the company used their content to train AI models without their consent.

The post OpenAI Sued by CNET, IGN Owner Ziff Davis for Copyright Infringement appeared first on TheWrap.