Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringement

Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringement. AINewsTechSeattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringementThey want the AI models built on their works destroyed.

What happened

The Seattle Times and Newsday are just the latest plaintiffs to take OpenAI to court, alleging copyright infringement. The two outlets say the company used their journalism as training data for its AI models without permission and often reproduces passages from their reporting in response to user queries. This is similar to lawsuits filed by […] The Seattle Times and Newsday are just the latest plaintiffs to take OpenAI to court, alleging copyright infringement. The Seattle Times and Newsday also named Microsoft as a defendant in the suit, since Copilot is built on OpenAI’s technology.

25% off tickets now Back by popular demand: Save up to $300 on Disrupt Close In Brief Posted: 3:49 PM PDT · September 5, 2026 Image Credits:vectortatu (opens in a new window) / Getty Images Anthony Ha Seattle Times and Newsday are the latest publications to sue OpenAI and Microsoft Two more news organizations are suing OpenAI and Microsoft over the supposed use of their journalism to train AI. REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news Related AI Authors push back as publishers and agents make claims on Anthropic settlement Anthony Ha 3 hours ago AI OpenAI confirms ‘wiki incident,’ says it’s ‘working on a framework’ for more disclosure Anthony Ha 1 day ago Latest in AI AI Authors push back as publishers and agents make claims on Anthropic settlement Anthony Ha 3 hours ago In Brief Travis Kalanick’s Atoms might be getting into the robotaxi business Anthony Ha 7 hours ago In Brief Seattle Times and Newsday are the latest publications to sue OpenAI and Microsoft Anthony Ha 1 day ago

Back in 2023, The New York Times sued OpenAI and its partner/investor Microsoft over alleged copyright infringement; other publications have followed suit as the case continued. The Seattle Times’ lawsuit is particularly notable because Microsoft and OpenAI have funded some of the organization’s journalism projects and fellowships.

The wider picture

As part of the suit, The Seattle Times ​and Newsday are ⁠seeking the destruction of any copies of their works the companies are holding, as well as training datasets and AI models that incorporate them. A lawsuit filed by The Seattle Times and Newsday argued that with the advent of AI, the journalism industry could become “broken beyond repair. ” The lawsuit described generative AI as “a snake eating its own tail” that could “destroy the very organizations” that produce the content it’s trained on.

A Microsoft spokesperson told GeekWire that the company is “surprised by the lawsuit” but is “always happy to sit down and explore solutions to this type of dispute. ” Topics AI, Media & Entertainment, Microsoft, Newsday, OpenAI October 13 – 15 San Francisco Don’t miss out. This is similar to lawsuits filed by The New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, and Encyclopedia Britannica against OpenAI. OpenAI and Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Terrence O'BrienAIMicrosoftNewsOpenAITechMost PopularMost PopularDIY plug-in solar gains momentum in the USWhat to expect at Apple’s September 9th launch eventiPhone Handoff will seamlessly share one number between two phonesCD sales are booming as physical media continues its resurgenceIs this the future of America?

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They want the AI models built on their works destroyed. by Terrence O'BrienSep 6, 2026, 11:36 PM UTCThe OpenAI logo is displayed on a smartphone screen placed on a reflective surface on which the company’s logo is projected in Creteil, France, on September 4, 2026, as OpenAI began rolling out GPT-6 Astra, its most advanced model to date. (Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTerrence O'Brien is the Verge’s weekend editor.

What has been reported

Disrupt 2026: OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit, and more take over 6 industry stages. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths. The two outlets say the company used their journalism as training data for its AI models without permission and often reproduces passages from their reporting in response to user queries. The publishers join a list of nearly 400 local newspapers that recently sued the two companies, saying that because the chatbots reduce the need to visit their sites for reporting and answers, they cost them valuable subscription revenue.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. “AI products like ChatGPT and CoPilot are touted as producers of content, but in fact they are rapacious consumers, devouring human-authored content and delivering back to the world copies and derivative imitations of that same original content they consumed to achieve their commercial objectives,” the lawsuit said. The startup community will gather to answer a pivotal question: How do you build sustainably in the AI era?

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across theverge.com, techcrunch.com. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.