Ziff Davis Sues OpenAI for Using Its Content Without Permission
Ziff Davis, the digital media giant behind PCMag, IGN, Lifehacker, and more, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the tech company of “intentionally and relentlessly” using its copyrighted content to train ChatGPT without permission. The suit, filed in Delaware federal court, claims OpenAI even ignored web crawler restrictions and removed copyright info from Ziff Davis’ articles. It also alleges that the AI models produced exact copies and derivatives of its work, which violates the company’s intellectual property rights.
The publisher, which draws in over 292 million visitors a month across its 45+ sites, says it considered other options—like licensing deals some outlets struck with OpenAI—but ultimately decided to sue in hopes others would do the same. Ziff Davis is asking the court to block OpenAI from further using its content and to destroy any AI models or datasets built with it. It’s also seeking at least hundreds of millions in damages.
OpenAI, meanwhile, insists its models are “trained on publicly available data and grounded in fair use,” and claims ChatGPT helps with everything from creativity to medical research. While some publishers like News Corp and The Washington Post have signed deals, others—including The New York Times and The Intercept—have taken legal action just like Ziff Davis.
