Indian publishers sue OpenAI over alleged copyright infringement
Major Indian and international publishers, including those led by billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, sued OpenAI in New Delhi for allegedly using copyrighted books and news content without permission to train ChatGPT. The publishers claim the unauthorized training threatens book sales and author livelihoods.
What happened
Major Indian and international book publishers, led by the Federation of Indian Publishers, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi. The publishers include Rupa Publications, S. Chand and Co, Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, and Cambridge University Press.
Indian media outlets owned by billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani also joined the legal action. The case joins a global wave of copyright infringement lawsuits against technology companies.
Reported impact
The publishers claim that OpenAI trained ChatGPT using their copyrighted literary works without authorization or proper licensing. They argue this practice threatens book sales and the publishing industry.
According to Pranav Gupta, General Secretary of the Federation of Indian Publishers, unless OpenAI complies with copyright regulations, it could significantly affect the livelihoods of authors and publishers.
Index analysis
The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI used copyrighted books to train its AI model without obtaining proper licenses or consent. The publishers claim that AI-generated content such as book summaries and extracts are often sourced from unauthorised copies available online.
Governance controls
The Federation of Indian Publishers is demanding that OpenAI stop using their copyrighted content and either license it properly or delete the data used in AI training. Penguin Random House introduced a copyright disclaimer in its books to prevent AI models from using their content without authorisation.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.