AI company Perplexity is facing a new copyright lawsuit, this time from CNN. The news network has accused the company of copying and distributing its content without permission. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. It adds to a growing list of legal battles between publishers and AI companies. Several major media organisations, including The New York Times, have already taken similar action against AI firms over the use of their content.
According to CNN, companies creating original journalism should be properly compensated when AI tools use their work. News organisations spend significant time, money and resources producing reports, and many publishers believe AI companies should pay for access to that content.
“CNN’s lawsuit stands for the proposition that Perplexity, a company valued at tens of billions of dollars, should not be able to steal from entities that create the original content Perplexity exploits,” a CNN spokesperson said. “The public rely on high quality news journalism reported by human beings to understand their world, which is frequently dangerous and expensive to produce. Commercial operators can and must pay to make use of it.”
The lawsuit also claims that CNN and Perplexity held discussions about a possible licensing agreement last year but failed to reach a deal. CNN argues that Perplexity knew it did not have permission to use CNN’s content after those negotiations ended.
However, Perplexity has pushed back against the allegations. “You can’t copyright facts,” Perplexity’s chief communications officer Jesse Dwyer said.
CNN says it supports the use of AI and is already working with several technology companies through licensing agreements. The company stated that it prefers to reach business deals with AI firms rather than take legal action.
Also read: ChatGPT may soon let users share chats with colourful preview cards: What we know
The network said it would rather establish “sensible licensing arrangements” with companies, but added that if firms refuse to do so, “they will have to pay through legal damages. There is no free option.”
CNN is not the only publisher to challenge Perplexity. News Corp, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Japanese media company Yomiuri Shimbun have also filed legal complaints against the AI startup. At the same time, other publishers, including Gannett, TIME, Le Monde, and Der Spiegel, have signed licensing agreements with Perplexity.