Delhi High Court seeks OpenAI's response in copyright infringement case
The Delhi High Court has requested a response from OpenAI following a lawsuit filed by news agency ANI, accusing the artificial intelligence research organization of using its copyrighted material for AI training. This unique case in the Indian legal system targets Open AI Inc (OAI) and Open AI OpCo LLC.
ANI is seeking damages of Rs 2 crore and is asking the court to issue a decree for a permanent injunction, preventing OAI or any affiliates from storing, publishing, or using ANI's works in any way.
Legal Proceedings
Open AI's counsel, senior advocate Amit Sibal, informed Justice Amit Bansal that, in response to a legal notice from ANI in September, OAI blocklisted ANI's domain in October 2024. This action means that OAI is no longer utilizing materials from ANI's domain for training its large language models (LLMs).
The court acknowledged the complexity of the case and the evolving technological landscape surrounding copyrights. As a result, it has proposed appointing an amicus curiae to assist with the legal aspects of the suit.
Allegations of Copyright Infringement
ANI's counsel, Sidhant Kumar Marwah, has accused OAI of copyright infringement, citing three main issues. Firstly, ANI claims that OAI used ANI's copyrighted material for training its LLMs. Secondly, Marwah argued that OAI's ChatGPT provides responses that closely resemble ANI's copyrighted content.
Lastly, ANI alleged that ChatGPT generates hallucinatory responses falsely attributed to ANI.
During the proceedings, Sibal raised concerns about the territorial jurisdiction of the court, highlighting OAI's legal issues in other countries. He emphasized that OAI operates transparently and legally, with servers located abroad and no reproduction of materials in India.
Court's Decision
While Justice Bansal did not grant an interim injunction during the recent hearing, the court has scheduled further deliberations on January 28.
Outside the legal realm, the ongoing by-election campaign in Uttar Pradesh has witnessed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and SP president Akhilesh Yadav engaging in political exchanges, focusing on governance achievements and alleged conflicts between the central and state governments.
