Applying copyright law to new technology is always a fight. Artificial intelligence is poised to win this round. At the end of 2023, the New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. The cost of developing generative AI software is already high. If start-ups must also pay for all the online material they scrape, then it could become ruinous. But previous battles between media and tech companies suggest a compromise outcome is more likely.

The NYT complaint claims OpenAI and Microsoft’s “unlawful” use of millions of articles to train large language models threatens the Times’s ability to provide this service. It points to doppelg?nger output from OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT. The case follows similar complaints from creators including comedian Sarah Silverman. The US Copyright Office has taken comment on possible new rules on AI. Google, Microsoft and Adobe are promising protection for customers.

The NYT case centres on fair use of copyright material. Educational uses, for example, tend to constitute fair use. Creative work has more protection than factual material.