Market & Regulation
Seattle Times, Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft for infringement
The Verge AIhigh confidence
Why it matters
- →Highlights ongoing legal challenges AI companies face regarding copyright infringement.
- →Reflects broader industry concerns about AI's impact on traditional media revenue.
- →Raises questions about the balance between AI innovation and intellectual property rights.
The Seattle Times and Newsday have sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement for using their journalism as training data without permission. The lawsuit claims that the AI models reproduce passages from their reporting, impacting subscription revenue by reducing site visits. The publishers are demanding the destruction of AI models and datasets incorporating their work. This case joins a series of similar lawsuits against OpenAI, reflecting ongoing disputes over AI's use of copyrighted material.
Read originalThe story around this
TopicAnthropic Pentagon Legal Dispute
Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.
How we got here
- 1AI Monitoring Sparks Union Dispute at New York Times
The Verge Creator Economy · May 27, 2026 · Background
- 2CNN Sues Perplexity for Copyright Infringement
The Verge AI · May 28, 2026 · Related
- 3Microsoft sells OpenAI models in China
AI News · June 18, 2026 · Background
- 4OpenAI Accused of Hiding Evidence in Copyright Case
TechCrunch AI · July 9, 2026 · Related
- 5Apple Sues OpenAI Over AI Race Expansion
The AI Daily Brief · July 14, 2026 · Background
- 6OpenAI Faces Lawsuit from Apple
Fireship · July 17, 2026 · Related
- 7OpenAI and Anthropic's AI Race Sparks Industry Concerns
WIRED AI · July 30, 2026 · Background
- 8Apple and OpenAI Face Lawsuit
The AI Daily Brief · August 5, 2026 · Background
What happened next
- 9OpenAI's Model Solves $1M Math Problem
The Rundown AI · September 9, 2026 · Background
- 10NYT v OpenAI filings reveal internal AI scraping admissions
TechCrunch AI · September 17, 2026 · Related
- 11OpenAI Sued Over Hugging Face Agent Hack
WIRED AI · September 29, 2026 · Related
- 12USA Today sues OpenAI for $250M over copyright
The Verge AI · October 8, 2026 · Same story
Follow this story
Open the full story →Trump Administration Backs OpenAI in NYT Copyright Case
7 developments
- Sep 2 · The Verge AI
Trump Administration Backs OpenAI in NYT Copyright Case - Sep 2 · TechCrunch AI
US Government Supports OpenAI in Copyright Lawsuit - Sep 2 · WIRED AI
Trump Administration Backs OpenAI in Copyright Case - Sep 3 · Music Tech Policy
DOJ Seeks AI Training Safe Harbor via Fair Use↳ DOJ seeks fair use safe harbor for AI training, arguing it is exceedingly transformative to bypass congressional authority. - Sep 4 · The Verge AI
Microsoft Defends AI Use in Copyright Lawsuit↳ Microsoft claims less than 1% of 8 million chat logs had significant text overlap with copyrighted content. - Sep 5 · TechCrunch AI
Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft↳ Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft over unauthorized use of journalistic content in AI training. - Sep 6 · The Verge AI
Seattle Times, Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft for infringement (This article)
More from The Verge AI
© The Verge AICoding Toolscoding
DIY Muse Gadget proves Meta's hardware is just a dev kit
Meta’s Muse Charm isn’t a finished product; it’s an invitation to hack. A non-coder used Claude Code to transform a $50 Waveshare ESP32-S3 dev board into a fully functional AI companion, adding ElevenLabs voice synthesis, custom Tamagotchi-style minigames, and remote camera controls that Meta’s official firmware lacks. This reveals a critical truth: the value of Meta’s new hardware ecosystem lies not in its out-of-the-box utility, but in its open-source API allowing anyone to rewrite the experience. The gap between Meta’s polished demo and the actual user reality is bridged entirely by third-party AI coding tools.
The Verge AI
© The Verge AIModels & Labsother
Apple Intelligence arrives in China via iOS 27.3
Apple is finally unlocking its AI suite for Chinese users with the iOS 27.3 beta, marking a significant regulatory milestone after months of approval delays. The rollout relies on Alibaba’s Qwen model rather than OpenAI, integrating features like notification summaries and visual intelligence directly into the OS. By sidestepping the new Siri in favor of established text and image tools, Apple is prioritizing immediate utility over the full generative experience. This move effectively brings Apple’s AI capabilities to a massive new market, albeit with localized constraints that distinguish it from the global release.
The Verge AI
© The Verge AIMarket & Regulationbusiness
Altman argues cloud RAM over local inference
Sam Altman is pushing back against the local AI trend, arguing that hoarding DRAM in personal devices is a global waste during a severe supply crunch. He points out that consumer hardware sits idle most of the time, whereas cloud data centers achieve the high utilization rates needed to justify the billions invested by players like OpenAI and Stargate. This isn't just an opinion; it's a defense of the centralized infrastructure model against the growing open-source movement. The real-world impact is visible in the locked-up supply from Samsung and SK Hynix, which drives up costs for everyone else.
The Verge AI
More in Market & Regulation
© TechCrunch AIMarket & Regulationother
Judge allows NAACP lawsuit over xAI pollution to proceed
xAI's attempt to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act lawsuit failed after a federal judge ruled that its gas turbines are not exempt mobile sources and that plaintiffs have standing. This legal setback confirms that AI infrastructure operators cannot bypass environmental permitting by classifying heavy industrial equipment as temporary or mobile. The ruling forces xAI to face scrutiny over air quality impacts at its Colossus data center, setting a precedent for how large-scale compute facilities are regulated under existing environmental laws.
TechCrunch AI
© TechCrunch AIInvestment · $20B
Market & Regulationbusiness
OpenAI cuts funding target to $20B amid tepid demand
OpenAI is scaling back its ambitions as investor appetite for massive AI infrastructure bets cools. The company has lowered its fundraising target from $30 billion to $20 billion, with only $11 billion secured so far against a valuation that has dropped from $1.4 trillion. This retreat signals a growing wariness among Wall Street investors regarding the capital intensity of the AI race, forcing even the most dominant players to adjust their financial expectations.
TechCrunch AI
© The AI Daily BriefMarket & Regulationbusiness
Legal AI startup Crosby bids for Weil’s assets
Crosby, a legal AI startup, has placed a bid for the assets of law firm Weil.
The AI Daily Brief