- The New York Times filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023.
- The lawsuit alleges that millions of NYT articles were used to train AI models, including ChatGPT, without authorization.
- Judge Sidney H. Stein largely denied OpenAI’s motion to dismiss on April 4, 2025, allowing core claims to proceed.
- The U.S. Department of Justice filed a non-binding brief on September 1, 2026, supporting OpenAI’s fair-use defense.
- The case is currently in the discovery phase, consolidated with similar lawsuits, with no trial date yet set.
The legal confrontation between The New York Times and artificial intelligence developer OpenAI, with Microsoft as a co-defendant, represents the most significant AI copyright case in the United States. This dispute, initiated in December 2023, centers on the unauthorized use of copyrighted material to train large language models.
The New York Times alleges that millions of its articles were ingested by OpenAI’s systems, including ChatGPT, without permission or compensation. This action, the Times argues, constitutes copyright infringement and threatens the economic viability of original journalism.
In many ways, this lawsuit is a crucible for intellectual property law in the digital age. It questions the boundaries of fair use when advanced AI systems learn from vast datasets of human-created content.
But the story doesn’t begin there. Its roots lie in the rapid advancement of AI technology and the legal frameworks struggling to keep pace.
The Genesis of a Landmark Lawsuit
The New York Times Company filed its lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft on December 27, 2023. The complaint, lodged in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, accused the defendants of copyright infringement, unfair competition, and dilution.
The Times asserted that OpenAI’s AI models, particularly ChatGPT, were trained on a vast corpus of its journalistic content. This training, according to the lawsuit, enabled the AI to generate output that sometimes closely mirrored or even reproduced sections of NYT articles, undermining the newspaper’s subscription model and journalistic integrity.
Microsoft’s inclusion as a co-defendant stems from its significant investment in OpenAI and its integration of OpenAI’s technology into its own products, such as Bing Chat (now Copilot).
Judicial Scrutiny and the Path Forward
OpenAI filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in early 2024, arguing that its use of copyrighted material constituted fair use under U.S. copyright law. The company contended that AI training is transformative and does not directly compete with the original works.
On April 4, 2025, Judge Sidney H. Stein, presiding over the case in the Southern District of New York, largely denied OpenAI’s motion. This ruling allowed the core copyright infringement claims brought by The New York Times to proceed, signaling the court’s view that the allegations warranted further legal examination.
The decision was a significant procedural victory for The New York Times. It indicated that the court found sufficient grounds to explore whether AI training on copyrighted material without license constitutes infringement.
The Department of Justice Weighs In
The legal landscape of AI copyright received a new dimension on September 1, 2026. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a non-binding amicus curiae brief in the case.
The DOJ’s brief supported OpenAI’s fair-use defense. This marked the first instance of the U.S. government taking an official position on the complex legal questions surrounding AI and copyright in active litigation.
The Department of Justice’s involvement underscores the national significance of this case. Its stance suggests a potential federal interest in fostering AI development, even as it navigates the established principles of intellectual property.
Consolidation and Discovery
The New York Times lawsuit has been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL). This consolidation includes similar lawsuits filed by other news organizations and authors against AI developers.
Multidistrict litigation centralizes similar cases before one judge to streamline pretrial proceedings, such as discovery. This approach aims to promote efficiency and consistency in rulings across related disputes.
Currently, the case is in the discovery phase. This period involves the exchange of information between the parties, including documents, interrogatories, and depositions. No trial date has been set, indicating the complexity and extensive nature of the evidence gathering.
The Broader Implications
The outcome of The New York Times v. OpenAI and Microsoft holds profound implications for multiple sectors. For content creators and publishers, it could establish new precedents for how their work is protected and compensated in the age of generative AI.
For AI developers, the ruling will shape the legal parameters for data acquisition and model training. It could necessitate new licensing models or impact the scope of fair use interpretations.
The case also reflects a broader societal debate about the role of AI in information dissemination and the economic models supporting original content creation. It pits technological innovation against established intellectual property rights.
Arguments were presented. Defenses were mounted. The Department of Justice weighed in. The future of AI and intellectual property hangs in the balance.
In New York.
What is the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI about?
The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023, alleging that the companies used millions of its copyrighted articles without permission to train their artificial intelligence models, including ChatGPT, leading to copyright infringement.
When did the court rule on OpenAI’s motion to dismiss?
On April 4, 2025, Judge Sidney H. Stein largely denied OpenAI’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the core copyright infringement claims brought by The New York Times to proceed to further stages of litigation.
Has the U.S. government taken a side in the NYT v. OpenAI case?
Yes, on September 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a non-binding amicus curiae brief supporting OpenAI’s fair-use defense. This marks the first time the U.S. government has formally taken a position in this significant AI copyright litigation.
What is the current status of the lawsuit?
As of September 2026, the lawsuit is in the discovery phase, where both parties exchange information and evidence. It has been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation with similar cases, and no trial date has been set.
Who is the presiding judge in the NYT v. OpenAI case?
Judge Sidney H. Stein is the presiding judge for The New York Times v. OpenAI and Microsoft in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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