DOJ urges judge to rule for OpenAI and Microsoft in New York Times copyright lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice has urged the judge in the New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft to rule in favor of the two defendant companies, according to a report by The Washington Post.

The lawsuit stems from the Times' late-2023 allegations that OpenAI and Microsoft used its news articles without permission to train AI models, amounting to copyright infringement. It has since become one of the most emblematic copyright disputes in generative AI, with the industry watching every procedural turn.

The DOJ's push arrives as the case moves through a critical phase, effectively handing the court a statement of the U.S. government's position. Such filings are not binding on the judge, but on questions that mix major technology policy with copyright law they often carry real weight.

At the heart of the case is whether training models on copyrighted material counts as fair use. A ruling in favor of OpenAI and Microsoft would substantially lower the legal risk around AI training data; the opposite outcome could push media companies and model makers back to the table over large-scale content licensing.

On the core question of whether generative AI may freely train on copyrighted content, the DOJ's stance sends a clear signal favoring the AI industry, prompting content owners and model vendors on the sidelines to reassess their negotiating positions.

What to watch next: whether the judge adopts the government's view, when a decisive ruling lands, and how the outcome reverberates through similar AI copyright cases.