Rothwell Figg Client The New York Times Files Consequential Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Microsoft Alleging Copyright Infringement by Generative AI Tools

As long standing intellectual property counsel to The New York Times, Rothwell Figg and co-counsel Susman Godfrey filed a lawsuit today against Microsoft Corporation and OpenAI alleging copyright infringement. The case, filed in the Southern District of New York, accuses Microsoft and OpenAI of copyright infringement based on their generative AI (GenAI) tools that rely on large-language models built by copying and using millions of The New York Times’ copyrighted news articles, in depth-investigations, opinion pieces, reviews, how-to guides, and more.

The Rothwell Figg lawyers working on the case are Steven Lieberman, Jennifer Maisel, and Kristen Logan.

The lawyers in Rothwell Figg’s Artificial Intelligence practice know the legal and business implications, opportunities, challenges, and pitfalls associated with AI. Indeed, several members of our AI team have been practicing in this area for over a decade. The team knows the technology – and the accompanying legal issues – inside and out. Many of our attorneys have  degrees and technical backgrounds in engineering and computer science, are thought-leaders in the space, and are involved in bar committees and other organizations focusing on AI-related legal developments.

You can find additional information on the case through the following articles:

• "What To Know About The NYT Suit Against Microsoft, OpenAI," Law360, January 2, 2024
• "The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work," The New York Times, December 27, 2023
• "New York Times Sues Microsoft, OpenAI Over Alleged Use of Copyrighted Content to Train ChatGPT," Law.com, December 28, 2023
• "New York Times Sues Microsoft and OpenAI, Alleging Copyright Infringement," The Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2023

The complaint can be found below.