Chicago Tribune Sues Perplexity AI Over Copyright Infringement
Full Transcript
The Chicago Tribune filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Thursday, October 12, 2023, in New York federal court against Perplexity AI, alleging that the California-based startup unlawfully profited from the Tribune's content in developing its AI-driven search engine.
The complaint asserts that Perplexity AI has used large portions of the Tribune's reporting, often fully reproduced, to provide answers through its chatbot and newly launched search engine, thus bypassing the need to link back to the Tribune's website.
The lawsuit claims that this practice diverts traffic away from the Tribune, undermining its business model based on paid subscriptions and advertising. Perplexity's generative AI products reportedly generate outputs that are identical or substantially similar to the Tribune's content, with the suit stating that millions of copyrighted stories, videos, images, and other works have been unlawfully copied.
The Tribune alleges that this not only misappropriates revenue opportunities but also risks damaging the newspaper's brand due to inaccuracies created by Perplexity’s AI. Mitch Pugh, executive editor of the Tribune, emphasized that the business model of Perplexity is rooted in stealing journalism from the Tribune and other publications.
The lawsuit includes three counts of copyright infringement, one count of false designation and trademark dilution, and one count of trademark infringement, seeking undisclosed damages and a permanent injunction against Perplexity's use of the Tribune's content.
Perplexity AI, founded in 2022, claims to be the world's first answer engine, quickly gaining traction with a valuation of 20 billion dollars and generating over 100 million search results weekly. This lawsuit follows a trend of legal actions from legacy media against AI companies, including similar lawsuits filed against OpenAI and Microsoft by a coalition of newspapers including the Tribune, for unauthorized use of their articles to develop generative AI models.