Platkin LLP now represents 60 publishers across the country suing Open AI , Microsoft

Represented by Platkin LLP,  publishers argue OpenAI and Microsoft  systematically and willfully stole copyrighted news articles without permission or compensation

A new group of 26 local, regional and specialty publishers joined a landmark copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft Wednesday, alleging the defendants systematically and willfully stole copyrighted news articles produced by local publications, used that content to train and build commercial AI products, and reproduced or repurposed that reporting without permission or compensation. The latest complaint brings the total number of outlets and publishers represented by Platkin LLP in this legal action to over 550.

The lawsuit, filed by Platkin LLP, a mission-driven law firm founded by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, argues the actions violate longstanding protections under the Copyright Act, and claim OpenAI knowingly removed copyright management information from the publishers’ works, such as author credits, copyright notices, and terms of use information in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The continued growth of this case demonstrates the widespread impact of the issue, as publishers across the country look to protect their original journalism from alleged unauthorized use by AI companies. When the case was initially filed in June, it represented the largest collective effort by local and regional publications to challenge AI companies over the unauthorized use of original reporting. The addition of another significant group of publishers expands that effort further, bringing together publications serving communities and audiences across the country.

The publishers behind this case invest substantial resources in the reporters, editors, photographers and staff who produce original journalism every day. That reporting informs communities, holds institutions accountable and provides the original information that AI products have relied on. Rather than compensating or citing the publishers for use of their work, OpenAI and Microsoft illegally used that copyrighted material to build enormously valuable commercial products.

“The scale of this coalition should be a wake-up call,” said former Attorney General of New Jersey and partner at Platkin LLP, Matt Platkin. “Over 500 news publications are standing together because what happens here will help determine whether local and independent journalism can continue to thrive in communities across the country. If some of the largest technology companies in the world can take copyrighted reporting without permission, use it for their own commercial benefit and face no consequences, the damage will extend far beyond any one publisher. It will weaken the institutions people rely on to understand what is happening in their own communities. That is why this case matters, and why we intend to hold OpenAI and Microsoft accountable.”

The newest plaintiffs show just how wide the impact of OpenAI and Microsoft’s harm reaches. They include Times Publishing Company, parent of the 14-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Tampa Bay Times; The Austin Chronicle, an independent publication that has covered Austin for more than four decades; the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation, which works with organizations supporting more than 500 Black- and Latino-owned, alternative and online news outlets across the country; and SwimSwam, one of the world’s leading sources for competitive swimming news. They are joined by local outlets, nonprofit investigative newsrooms and community publications serving readers from New England and New Jersey to Florida, Texas and Arizona. The breadth of publications alleging the same misuse of their work underscores the sweeping reach of OpenAI and Microsoft’s practices across the news industry.

The lawsuit seeks to hold OpenAI and Microsoft fully accountable for violations of publishers’ rights—past, present and ongoing—and to ensure that the organizations investing in original journalism have meaningful protections in the AI era. The case is not about stopping AI innovation, but ensuring that innovation happens fairly and within the bounds of the law, without coming at the expense of the publishers and journalists whose work helps power these technologies.

The Plaintiffs are the following publishers: Times Publishing Company; Alternative Newsweekly Foundation; Austin Chronicle Corp.; Boston Neighborhood News, Inc.; Cape Gazette, Ltd.; Chapman Hyperlocal Media, Inc.; Conrad Communications, LLC; Contemporary Media, Inc.; East Greenwich News; ecoRI Inc.; Florida Trend Magazines, Inc.; HD Media Company, LLC; Massachusetts Media Fund, Inc.; New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism; Noisy Creek, Inc.; Richland Times, LLC; San Francisco Jewish Community Publications, Inc.; SwimSwam Partners, LLC; TAP IP, LLC; The Alternative Press, LLC; The Calais Advertiser, Inc.; The Hudson Valley Local News Lab Inc.; The Jewish Link of Bergen County and Northern NJ, LLC; The Machias Valley News Observer, Inc.; Tucson Investigative Reporting Center Inc.; We-Ha.com LLC

For more information, visit platkinllp.com or contact PlatkinLLP@Orchestraco.com.