Story perspectives

Britannica Sues OpenAI for Copyright Infringement

3/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI in Manhattan federal court.
The suit alleges OpenAI used nearly 100,000 Britannica articles and dictionary entries to train its AI models, including ChatGPT, without authorization.
Britannica argues the practice diverted traffic from its websites by generating near-verbatim responses.
OpenAI says its models are trained on publicly available data and adhere to fair use.

History

Historical Context

The Copyright Act of 1976 established the framework for U.S. copyright law, incorporating the fair use doctrine, which allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission. This law emerged from earlier legal precedents, including the Statute of Anne in 1710. Current disputes, such as the lawsuit against OpenAI, reflect ongoing tensions over copyright in the digital age, impacting how AI companies engage with copyrighted works.

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Story summary

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI in Manhattan federal court.
The suit alleges OpenAI used nearly 100,000 Britannica articles and dictionary entries to train its AI models, including ChatGPT, without authorization.
Britannica argues the practice diverted traffic from its websites by generating near-verbatim responses.
OpenAI says its models are trained on publicly available data and adhere to fair use.

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