New York Times Sues Perplexity Over Copyright Infringement
for commercial products.
TAGS: Perplexity, The New York Times, AI Lawsuits, Copyright, Generative AI
CONTEUDO:
The New York Times initiated legal action against AI search startup Perplexity on Friday, marking its second major lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company. The complaint accuses Perplexity of copyright infringement, claiming the startup utilizes the publisher’s work without permission or compensation to power its commercial products.
This filing follows a similar legal challenge from the Chicago Tribune earlier this week. The core of the dispute centers on Perplexity’s use of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technology. According to the lawsuit, Perplexity gathers information from various databases to create responses that often mirror or summarize copyrighted material from the Times, effectively acting as a substitute for the publisher’s own platform.
The Conflict Over Content Usage
Graham James, a spokesperson for The Times, stated that while the organization supports ethical AI development, it firmly rejects the unlicensed use of its reporting. “RAG allows Perplexity to crawl the internet and steal content from behind our paywall and deliver it to its customers in real time,” James said. “That content should only be accessible to our paying subscribers.”
Beyond copyright concerns, the lawsuit alleges that Perplexity’s search engine has produced “hallucinated” information, falsely attributing inaccurate claims to the newspaper and causing potential brand damage.
Legal Strategy and Industry Pressure
The legal move is part of a broader, multi-year strategy by media organizations to secure formal licensing agreements with AI firms. By pursuing litigation, publishers aim to force these companies to acknowledge the economic value of original journalism. The Times notes that it previously sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity over a year ago and has attempted to negotiate over the past 18 months.
The landscape of publishers taking action against Perplexity includes:
- News Corp (The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, New York Post)
- Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster
- Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun
Perplexity’s Defense
In response to the litigation, Jesse Dwyer, Perplexity’s head of communications, noted that publishers have historically challenged emerging technologies—from radio and television to the internet and social media. “Fortunately it’s never worked, or we’d all be talking about this by telegraph,” Dwyer said.
Perplexity has previously attempted to address industry concerns through its Publishers’ Program, which shares ad revenue with partners like TIME, Fortune, and the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, the startup recently secured a multi-year licensing deal with Getty Images.
Broader Legal Precedents
The Times remains engaged in a separate, ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft regarding AI training data. Meanwhile, other industry disputes continue to shape the legal environment for generative AI. For instance, in a lawsuit involving authors and Anthropic, a court ruled that while training on lawfully acquired books may constitute fair use, utilizing pirated content infringes on copyrights—a case that led to a $1.5 billion settlement.
As the legal battle unfolds, The Times continues to pursue separate licensing deals with other tech entities, including a multi-year agreement signed earlier this year with Amazon. The current suit against Perplexity seeks both financial damages and a court-ordered ban on the startup’s use of its content.