Digital Event Horizon
A major publishing company has sued an AI search engine startup for allegedly copying copyrighted content without permission or compensation. The lawsuit could have significant implications for the tech industry and its use of machine learning in content generation.
Dow Jones & Co and NYP Holdings have filed a lawsuit against AI search engine startup Perplexity for copyright infringement and false designation of origin. The plaintiffs claim that Perplexity has copied copyrighted material without compensation and presented it as original content. News Corp's CEO Robert Thomson stated that the lawsuit is about getting paid upfront, not against sharing intellectual property to train AI systems. The lawsuit alleges that Perplexity harms publishers' brands by falsely attributing content and inventing news stories. The controversy surrounding AI scraping sparks debate about its use in content generation and proposes regulation to protect creative work.
Major publishers Dow Jones & Co and NYP Holdings have taken legal action against AI search engine startup Perplexity, alleging copyright infringement and false designation of origin. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York District Court, seeks damages of $150,000 for every proven infringement, which could severely impact or even bankrupt the startup.
The plaintiffs, including News Corporation, claim that Perplexity has willfully copied copious amounts of copyrighted material without compensation and shamelessly presents repurposed material as a direct substitute for the original source. According to court documents filed by News Corp, the company first contacted Perplexity about the matter in July but received no response.
News Corp's CEO Robert Thomson stated that the lawsuit is not against sharing intellectual property to train AI systems, but rather about getting paid upfront. The company has a deal with OpenAI for $250 million and similar deals with Reddit and Stack Overflow. Thomson claimed that Perplexity's lack of transparency and respect for do-not-scrape commands makes it difficult to distinguish between legitimate and malicious uses of their technology.
The lawsuit also alleges that Perplexity harms publishers' brands by falsely attributing content to them, sometimes citing incorrect sources or inventing news stories altogether. One case cited is an August 2024 New York Post article about European attempts to "silence great Americans like Elon Musk." Perplexity allegedly copied the first 139 words of the piece and then added five more paragraphs of factually incorrect information.
The controversy surrounding AI scraping has sparked debate about the use of machine learning in content generation. While some argue that it can be a valuable tool for improving search results, others claim that it leads to the theft of creative work at scale. Gary Marcus, an expert on artificial intelligence, proposes a generative AI boycott to push for regulation and tame Silicon Valley.
The lawsuit against Perplexity is part of a larger conversation about intellectual property rights in the age of AI. As more companies integrate machine learning into their products and services, it is becoming increasingly important to establish clear guidelines for its use. The consequences of not doing so could be severe, as seen with the potential financial impact on startups like Perplexity.
In conclusion, the lawsuit against Perplexity AI highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the development and deployment of machine learning technology. As the industry continues to evolve, it is essential to strike a balance between innovation and protection of creative work.
Related Information:
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/10/22/publishers_sue_perplexity_ai/
Published: Tue Oct 22 03:55:51 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
