The Seattle Times and Newsday have filed lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the two firms used the newspapers’ journalism to train generative‑AI models without permission, constituting copyright infringement.
Complaint details and language
According to a TechCrunch report published on 5 September 2026, the complaint argues that AI could leave journalism “broken beyond repair.” It describes generative AI as “a snake eating its own tail” that could “destroy the very organizations” that produce the content it consumes. The filing further claims that AI products such as ChatGPT and Copilot “are rapacious consumers, devouring human‑authored content and delivering back to the world copies and derivative imitations of that same original content they consumed to achieve their commercial objectives.”
Context within the growing media‑AI litigation
The Seattle Times and Newsday lawsuits join a wave of actions that began with The New York Times filing a similar suit against OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023. The earlier case set a precedent for alleging copyright infringement based on the use of news articles as training data. Since then, a handful of other publications have pursued legal remedies, underscoring a broader industry concern that AI could erode the economic foundations of journalism.
Microsoft’s response and prior funding ties
A Microsoft spokesperson told GeekWire that the company is “surprised by the lawsuit” but remains “open to dialogue.” The complaint notes that Microsoft and OpenAI have funded several Seattle Times journalism projects and fellowships, a fact that adds a layer of complexity to the dispute.
Company backgrounds
OpenAI, founded in December 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, is led by chief executive Sam Altman and employs roughly 4,500 staff. Microsoft Corp., headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is led by chief executive Satya Nadella, employs about 221,000 people, and reported a fiscal‑year‑ending 30 June 2026 net income of USD 133.749 billion.
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Net income | USD 133,749,000,000 | FY 2026 (ended 30 June 2026) |
| Total assets | USD 758,376,000,000 | FY 2026 (ended 30 June 2026) |
| Shareholders’ equity | USD 442,387,000,000 | FY 2026 (ended 30 June 2026) |
| Shares outstanding | 7,427,000,000 shares | FY 2026 (ended 30 June 2026) |
Source: Microsoft 10‑K filed 29 July 2026.
Potential impact on the news industry
If the courts accept the plaintiffs’ arguments, OpenAI and Microsoft could be required to halt the use of the newspapers’ articles in training data, destroy existing datasets that contain the content, and possibly pay damages for copyright infringement. The complaint’s vivid language suggests that the plaintiffs view the outcome as a safeguard against a future where AI‑generated content supplants original reporting, thereby threatening advertising revenue and subscription models that sustain newsrooms.
What remains unknown
- The specific volume of Seattle Times and Newsday articles that the defendants allegedly used in training has not been disclosed.
- Neither OpenAI nor Microsoft has provided a detailed response beyond the spokesperson’s comment.
- The timeline for any court‑ordered remedies, if the case proceeds to judgment, is not yet clear.
As the litigation unfolds, publishers and AI developers alike will be watching for precedents that could shape data‑licensing practices and the economics of digital news.