A coalition of news organizations, including The New York Times and Chicago Tribune, told a federal court Monday that the Department of Justice's backing of OpenAI in a copyright infringement case should carry little weight, suggesting the Trump administration put politics ahead of law.
The outlets claimed the DOJ's early September filing supporting OpenAI reflects financial ties between the administration and AI companies, not impartial legal reasoning. The DOJ had argued that the newspapers' fair use arguments would hamper "creative and scientific progress" and harm the U.S. economy.
OpenAI faces allegations of training its AI models on copyrighted news content without permission. The New York Times sued in 2023, claiming unauthorized use of its articles. Several other news organizations have since joined the lawsuit. OpenAI says its use qualifies as fair use under copyright law.
The news outlets noted that the DOJ broke with standard practice by not consulting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright Office before filing. Both agencies were surprised by the filing, the outlets said.
In Monday's response, the newspapers said the DOJ "not only failed to consider the Copyright Office's position—it attempts to undermine the Office's position by accusing the Office of threadbare reasoning and noting the Administration's efforts to remove the Register of Copyrights."
Graham James, a New York Times spokesperson, said the government's filing "appears to be an effort to further enrich the world's largest companies—and the Administration's largest donors—while undermining this country's free press."
James added that the American economy has repeatedly shown "copyright protections aren't at odds with innovation, but rather fuel it." The case now moves forward in federal court.
