Asian News International (ANI), a prominent news agency, has taken legal action by appealing to the Delhi High Court following a single judge’s decision that denied interim relief in its copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. This appeal, challenging the order dated July 24, is scheduled for hearing on September 8 before a Division Bench consisting of Justices V Kameswaro Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora.
ANI stands as the first Indian media entity to legally contest OpenAI on grounds of copyright infringement. In its initial plea for an interim injunction before the single judge, ANI sought directives to prevent OpenAI from storing, reproducing, publishing, or utilizing ANI’s copyrighted content. The case also saw the involvement of other publications, notably the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which counts major media houses like The Times Group, Hindustan Times, India Today Group, and The Hindu as members.
However, the single-judge bench, led by Justice Amit Bansal, declined to issue such an order, asserting that it would not align with public interest. Justice Bansal’s ruling emphasized that OpenAI’s use of news content published by ANI for training ChatGPT does not equate to copyright infringement. He highlighted that granting an interim injunction could potentially cause irreparable harm not only to OpenAI but also to the public interest. According to the judge, ChatGPT has transformed information and is globally utilized for positive ends.
In response, ANI has approached the division bench, arguing that the mere public availability of its news content does not grant OpenAI the right to exploit or replicate it for storage purposes. ANI contends that the single judge’s interpretation of copyright law was flawed and that the decision improperly extends the fair use doctrine for commercial purposes beyond what is allowed by the Copyright Act.
Interestingly, the Delhi High Court’s perspective on this matter appears to diverge from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’s (DPIIT) white paper, which suggests that an injunction against ChatGPT might hinder the development of AI in India and adversely affect users.
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ANI’s appeal has been meticulously filed through advocate Sidhant Kumar of Unum Law, as the legal proceedings continue to unfold.
