Britannica Sues OpenAI Over AI Training Use Allegations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly dominating various sectors, often facing criticism for using different domains without adhering to proper rules or safety measures. Recently, Encyclopedia Britannica and its Merriam-Webster subsidiary sued OpenAI in a Manhattan federal court, alleging that the tech giant misused their reference materials to train its AI models.

Britannica claims in the filed complaint on Friday that OpenAI used its online articles and encyclopedia entries to teach ChatGPT how to respond to human prompts. The company also alleges that it “cannibalized” Britannica’s web traffic with AI-generated summaries of its content. An OpenAI spokesperson responded, stating that their models empower innovation and are trained on publicly available data grounded in fair use.

This case is part of a larger trend of copyright owners, including authors and news outlets, suing tech companies for using their material to train AI systems without permission. Britannica filed a related lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI last year, which remains ongoing.

The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI unlawfully copied nearly 100,000 of Britannica’s articles to train GPT large language models. The complaint states that ChatGPT produces near-verbatim copies of Britannica’s encyclopedia entries, dictionary definitions, and other content, diverting users who would otherwise visit its websites. Additionally, Britannica claims the company infringed on its trademarks by implying it has permission to reproduce its material and wrongfully citing Britannica in false AI “hallucinations.”