New York Times sparks legal debate over AI copyright in perplexity’s answer engine showdown

DCM Editorial Summary: This story has been independently rewritten and summarised for DCM readers to highlight key developments relevant to the region. Original reporting by News 18, click this post to read the original full article.

Perplexity is facing a lawsuit from The New York Times, which accuses the AI startup of illegally copying and repurposing its articles, videos, and podcasts. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, claims that Perplexity’s business model relies on scraping The Times’ copyrighted material, producing responses that often mirror the newspaper’s content. The Times argues that this practice constitutes unfair use, as it competes directly with their journalism and undermines their revenue.

The lawsuit also includes allegations of trademark violations under the Lanham Act, citing Perplexity’s tendency to generate fabricated information, or “hallucinations,” which are incorrectly attributed to The New York Times. This misrepresentation is seen as harmful to the newspaper’s brand credibility. Perplexity, which has recently secured significant investments and boasts a valuation of approximately $20 billion, is defending itself vigorously, claiming that the lawsuits are a common but historically unsuccessful tactic by publishers against new technologies.

Perplexity asserts that it does not scrape data but instead indexes webpages and provides factual citations, positioning itself as an intelligent research assistant. This legal battle highlights the ongoing tension between content creators and generative AI developers regarding the unauthorized use of proprietary material. The Times is also involved in disputes with other major AI companies, such as OpenAI and Microsoft, while Perplexity faces similar lawsuits from various publishers, including Dow Jones and the Chicago Tribune. The outcomes of these cases may significantly influence the legal landscape for the generative AI industry and the compensation models for digital content creators worldwide.