WSJ, New York Post sue Perplexity AI for copyright infringement
What's the story
Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post have sued Perplexity. The AI-driven search start-up is being accused of copyright infringement for using their articles to train its large language models. The publications claim that this practice not only diverts traffic from their websites but also damages their brand reputation.
Misuse allegations
Accusations of misusing copyrighted content
The lawsuit claims that Perplexity can offer users not just snippets from copyrighted articles, but their entire text. This is especially true for those who have subscribed to its premium plan. The publications cited an example where the service reportedly showed a full New York Post article when a user requested it.
Brand damage
Perplexity accused of damaging brand reputation
The publications also accuse Perplexity of damaging their brand by citing information that never appeared on their websites. They allege that the company's AI can "hallucinate" and add incorrect details. In one case, it reportedly attributed quotes to a Wall Street Journal article about the US arming Ukraine-bound F-16 jets that were never in the piece.
Legal action
Publications seek legal redress against Perplexity
Reportedly, the publications had sent a letter to Perplexity in July, outlining these legal issues, but the AI start-up did not respond. This isn't the first time AI companies have been sued for copyright infringement. Earlier, The New York Times and others had sued OpenAI for similar reasons. Conde Nast also issued a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity demanding it stop using its articles in response to user queries.
Damage claims
News Corp. seeks damages and content prohibition
For each case of copyright infringement, News Corp. is demanding damages of up to $150,000 and a court order preventing Perplexity from using its content without permission. It is still unclear if the company is willing to negotiate a content deal like the one News Corp. struck with OpenAI earlier this year. The deal permitted ChatGPT owner OpenAI to use its articles for training over five years for an estimated $250 million.