On November 19, 2024, news agency ANI filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, marking the first instance of an Indian publisher taking legal action for unauthorized use of its original news content.

ANI alleges that OpenAI exploited its content for commercial gain by using it to train its large language models, with claims that ChatGPT reproduces ANI's content verbatim in user responses.

The lawsuit further contends that OpenAI has attributed false statements and news to ANI, potentially damaging its reputation and contributing to the spread of misinformation.

This legal action comes in the context of growing concerns about the threats AI poses to the intellectual property rights of content creators, as highlighted by India's Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Globally, multiple news organizations, including the New York Times, have initiated lawsuits against AI companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Perplexity for copyright violations related to the use of their content in training AI models.

In response to these concerns, OpenAI has stated that it prioritizes collaboration with news organizations and claims that its use of publicly available data is protected under fair use principles.

OpenAI has previously acknowledged in a blog post that the 'regurgitation' of copyrighted material is a rare issue they are actively working to resolve.

In a related development in India, the family of late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam issued a legal notice against a film for recreating his voice using AI without consent.

The lawsuit filed by ANI is set to be heard by Justice Amit Bansal in the Delhi High Court on November 19, 2024.