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Britannica and Merriam-Webster Sue OpenAI for Copyright Infringement

3/18/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging copyright infringement.
The plaintiffs allege OpenAI trained ChatGPT on nearly 100,000 copyrighted articles, cannibalizing traffic and revenue.
The plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction to stop OpenAI from using their material.
OpenAI says its models are trained on publicly available data and are used under fair use.

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Story summary

Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging copyright infringement.
The plaintiffs allege OpenAI trained ChatGPT on nearly 100,000 copyrighted articles, cannibalizing traffic and revenue.
The plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction to stop OpenAI from using their material.
OpenAI says its models are trained on publicly available data and are used under fair use.