OpenAI Defends ChatGPT Against Copyright Claims in Indian Court
OpenAI is locked in a legal battle in India over copyright infringement allegations related to its ChatGPT service. The company has requested an Indian court dismiss a plea. A group of Indian and global book publishers had filed this plea. The company argues that ChatGPT only disseminates publicly available information. The case started with legal action by local news agency ANI last year. It is set to be heard in New Delhi on Tuesday. The hearing could have significant implications for the legal framework governing artificial intelligence in India. India is OpenAI’s second-largest market by user base.
In recent weeks, the case has expanded. Nearly a dozen digital media outlets have joined the challenge against the AI giant. These include those owned by prominent Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani. The Federation of Indian Publishers represents numerous Indian firms. It includes international publishers like Bloomsbury and Penguin Random House. They allege that ChatGPT generates book summaries and extracts from unlicensed online copies. This practice harms their business.
OpenAI, in a January 26 court filing seen by Reuters, countered these claims. The company asserted that the information used by ChatGPT is drawn from publicly accessible platforms. These include Wikipedia and publisher websites, specifically abstracts, summaries, and tables of content. “Web-crawlers are designed to only access publicly available data,” OpenAI stated in its 21-page response to the publishers’ arguments. The company maintains that it does not train its services on “original literary work.” The book publishers have failed to provide any evidence to support their claims.
Pranav Gupta, secretary of the publishers’ federation, told Reuters that ChatGPT displays the majority of book-related content from websites. These websites have licensing agreements with book publishers. This raises questions about the nature of “publicly available data.” OpenAI, however, insists that it utilizes publicly available data in a manner consistent with fair use principles. When contacted for comment on Tuesday, OpenAI referred Reuters to its previous statements and the court filing.
The outcome of this case will be closely watched. It has the potential to set a precedent for how copyright law applies to AI-generated content in India. The publishers’ claims raise complex questions about using copyrighted material in AI training. They also challenge the boundaries of fair use in the digital age. The court’s decision will likely have far-reaching consequences for the AI industry. It will affect the creative sector in India and potentially extend beyond.
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