OpenAI announces TIME partnership amid new lawsuit over copyright violations

ChatGPT company OpenAI announced a partnership with TIME on June 27 as the parent organization behind Mother Jones separately initiated a lawsuit.

The partnership will grant OpenAI access to content from TIME’s archives over the past 101 years, allowing it to enhance user responses using the information.

The responses will link to and cite source material on Time.com.

TIME will obtain access to OpenAI technology to develop new products. It will also provide feedback and share ideas on how to deliver journalism in ChatGPT and OpenAI products.

OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said:

“We’re partnering with TIME to make it easier for people to access news content through our AI tools … “

Lightcap added that the partnership aims to “support reputable journalism,” while TIME CEO Mark Howard said the partnership will help “expand access to trusted information globally.”

Mother Jones lawsuit

The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) — which publishes the magazine Mother Jones and produces the radio show Reveal — separately sued OpenAI and shareholder Microsoft.

OpenAI allegedly used CIR’s content without permission or compensation offers. CIR CEO Monika Bauerlein said OpenAI and Microsoft “started vacuuming up our stories to make their product more powerful” in a manner that is both unfair and a violation of copyright.

The suit specifically alleges violations of the Copyright Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

CIR acknowledged that access to a broad array of information makes AI products valuable. However, Bauerlein affirmed that users would be “limited to AI-generated summaries of a disappearing news landscape” if companies treat publishers’ content as “free raw material.”

The case is proceeding in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Other deals and lawsuits

OpenAI has formed deals with other companies, including but not limited to Reddit, the Financial Times, Vox Media, and magazine company Axel Springer. It also reached a deal with News Corp, which owns the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and the Daily Telegraph.

The company faces ongoing lawsuits from various media companies, including but not limited to the Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, and the Intercept.

The New York Times notably sued OpenAI in December 2023. OpenAI responded to the allegations by stating that the two companies had considered cooperating prior to the suit.