MSFT · News · 20260917N

OpenAI Copyright Litigation

MICROSOFT CORP · 2026-09-17 · Importance 36 · Surprise 42

Unsealed filings in The New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft contain internal statements characterizing AI scraping as a major theft of labor. The filings reportedly show concerns that OpenAI models threaten publishers and that Microsoft Copilot reduced The New York Times' click-through rates. News organizations argue that the statements undermine the companies' fair-use defense and could increase copyright-related litigation and licensing risk.

Key facts

• The unredacted documents show that Microsoft's Copilot significantly reduced click-through rates for The New York Times. source
• Unredacted legal filings in The New York Times' copyright lawsuit reveal a Microsoft executive described AI scraping as 'the largest theft of labor in human history.' source
• The unsealed court filings show Microsoft and OpenAI executives privately described their AI products as substitutes for journalism, which news outlets say weakens their fair-use defense. source