Full Breakdown
Trump Administration Backs OpenAI in New York Times Copyright Fight
9/3/2026, 2:08:38 AM
Core Lawsuit and Government Intervention
The New York Times filed a copyright lawsuit in 2023 alleging that OpenAI and its primary backer, Microsoft, used millions of the newspaper’s articles without permission to train large-language models such as ChatGPT. In a filing submitted in Manhattan federal court in 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice — acting on behalf of the Trump administration — argued that the practice constitutes “extraordinarily transformative” fair use and urged the court to reject the claim that training LLMs on copyrighted text violates U.S. law.
Background and Context
- 2023: The Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft, asserting unlicensed use of its articles.
- 2024: Google’s AI-generated search summaries begin diverting advertising revenue from news sites.
- 2025: Two federal judges issue opposing rulings in separate AI-fair-use cases.
- 2026: The DOJ files its brief, the first formal government position in AI copyright disputes. The litigation has been consolidated with claims from the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Ziff Davis, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Key Figures and Groups
- Stanley Woodward Jr. – Associate Attorney General, DOJ, author of the brief.
- Graham James – Spokesperson for The New York Times.
- Steven Lieberman – Lawyer for the Daily News.
- OpenAI Inc. – Defendant asserting a fair-use defense.
- Microsoft Corp. – OpenAI’s largest financial backer and co-defendant.
Official Statements & Responses
OpenAI maintains that its models rely on publicly available data and that fair-use principles have long governed such uses. The Times’ spokesperson contended that the administration is siding with “trillion-dollar AI companies” at the expense of American creators. The Daily News’s counsel argued that the DOJ’s filing ignores the Constitution’s copyright clause and the views of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Data & Statistics
- The Times alleges that “millions” of its articles were ingested for training.
- The lawsuit seeks “billions of dollars” in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft.
- Dozens of similar lawsuits have been filed against AI developers, including cases involving Anthropic and Meta Platforms.
Why It Matters / Impact
The outcome could set a nationwide precedent for how copyrighted material may be used in AI training, influencing the balance between innovation and creators’ economic rights. A ruling favoring OpenAI may encourage broader AI development; a decision supporting the publishers could compel AI firms to negotiate licensing agreements.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Judicial opinions in 2025 diverged on whether AI training qualifies as transformative fair use, and no appellate court has yet resolved the issue. The DOJ’s brief cites national-security benefits, while the plaintiffs focus on constitutional and economic harms. The case’s consolidation leaves open questions about the scope of permissible data use and appropriate compensation mechanisms.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Both AI and creators can thrive — AI companies simply need to pay fairly for the content that makes their products possible, as copyright law requires,” — Graham James
- “The Administration is siding with a handful of trillion-dollar AI companies at the expense of the countless American creators whose work they stole,” — Graham James
- “This filing ignores the copyright clause of the United States Constitution, which was authored by our founders in order to protect and incentivize the creation of original works,” — Steven Lieberman
