Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringement
The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming their journalism was used to train AI models without permission and that passages from their reporting are frequently reproduced in user queries. The lawsuit joins similar actions by major publications and nearly 400 local newspapers challenging the companies over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted content.
Why It Matters
This litigation represents an escalating legal challenge to foundational AI training practices, with news organizations seeking not just compensation but the destruction of AI models built using their content. The involvement of both national and local publishers signals a broad industry effort to establish copyright protections in an era where AI systems are trained on vast amounts of existing published material.
Key Facts
- Plaintiffs: Seattle Times and Newsday, plus nearly 400 local newspapers
- Defendants: OpenAI and Microsoft (for Copilot)
- Similar lawsuits: New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, and Encyclopedia Britannica
- Plaintiff demands: Destruction of AI models, training datasets, and copies of their works
- Date: September 6, 2026
Two major regional newspapers have joined a growing wave of copyright litigation against artificial intelligence companies, claiming unauthorized use of their journalism. The Seattle Times and Newsday allege that OpenAI and Microsoft incorporated their reporting into AI training datasets and that the resulting models frequently reproduce passages from their articles when responding to user queries. The lawsuit cites a pattern of similar challenges brought by prominent publications including The New York Times and specialized reference publishers.
The legal action reflects broader concerns within the publishing industry about how AI systems are built and deployed. The plaintiffs argue that when users turn to AI chatbots for answers, they bypass the publishers' websites entirely, eroding the audience and subscription revenue that sustains newsroom operations. This concern has resonated with approximately 400 local newspapers that have similarly sued the two companies in recent months.
The legal remedies sought in the case are notable for their scope. Rather than seeking monetary damages alone, The Seattle Times and Newsday are demanding that OpenAI and Microsoft destroy any copies of their copyrighted works, along with the training datasets and AI models that incorporated them. This approach suggests the publishers view the unauthorized use as so fundamental to the systems' development that remediation requires dismantling the models themselves.
The lawsuit names both OpenAI and Microsoft as defendants because of the close relationship between OpenAI's underlying technology and Microsoft's Copilot product. At the time of reporting, neither company had provided a public response to the legal action, leaving their defense strategy unclear as the case proceeds through the courts.
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