Encyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI over AI training

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster have sued OpenAI, claiming the generative AI (genAI) firm used their encyclopedia and dictionary texts to train AI models such as ChatGPT without permission, according to Reuters. The lawsuit alleges OpenAI copied nearly 100,000 articles from Britannica’s material and claims ChatGPT can reproduce content almost verbatim, which risks reducing online traffic to their own websites. Britannica also accused OpenAI of trademark infringement, as the AI responses sometimes reference Britannica in a way that could give the impression the material is being used with permission. The company is now seeking financial compensation and wants the court to stop the alleged use of their material. OpenAI disputed the allegations and argued that its models are trained on publicly available data that falls under the fair use doctrine. That is the same legal argument other genAI firms have used in the past to fight off similar allegations.