Overview
The New York Times v. OpenAI and Microsoft is a landmark copyright lawsuit (SDNY) alleging unauthorized use of publisher content for AI training. Filed ~2023; escalated September 17, 2026 with unsealed internal documents.
September 2026 Developments
- Plaintiffs filed motion for summary judgment with newly unredacted internal quotes
- Microsoft Brent Hecht “theft” admissions; OpenAI “existential threat” to publishers language
- 91,692+ copied works; Project Mango dataset details; paywall bypass allegations
- Trump administration brief supporting OpenAI unlicensed training fair-use defense
Stakes
- Fair-use precedent for all LLM training globally
- Publisher economics vs AI product substitution
- Developer training data licensing frameworks