Source: Law Chakra

The legal news portal Law Chakra reports on a significant case before the Delhi High Court in India, where the news agency Asian News International (ANI) has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The core of the legal dispute revolves around the allegation that OpenAI engaged in copyright infringement by using ANI's news articles and other content, without permission or compensation, to train its large language models. ANI contends that this unauthorized scraping and use of its proprietary content violates Indian copyright law and devalues its journalistic work. The case represents one of the first major legal challenges in India to the data-sourcing practices of leading global AI companies.

The High Court is tasked with examining whether the use of copyrighted material for the purpose of training an AI model falls under any exceptions in India's Copyright Act, such as the doctrine of "fair dealing," which is more restrictive than the "fair use" doctrine in the United States. The court's proceedings are being closely watched as they are expected to set a crucial precedent for the rights of content creators and the obligations of AI developers operating in India. The outcome could have far-reaching implications, potentially requiring AI companies to license content from Indian publishers or significantly alter their training methodologies. The court's initial observations and eventual ruling will be pivotal in shaping the legal framework for AI and intellectual property in the country.