Can OpenAI use copyrighted data to train ChatGPT? Delhi HC reserves verdict on ANI's plea for interim relief

After hearing arguments across multiple dates over a year, the Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on Asian News International (ANI)'s interim relief application in its copyright infringement suit against OpenAI, which owns and operates ChatGPT..Justice Amit Bansal reserved his verdict today after hearing ANI, OpenAI, and amici curiae and several intervenors. "Arguments stand concluded. Accordingly, judgment is reserved," Justice Bansal said. .ANI's suit is the first instance where an Indian media house has sued OpenAI for copyright violation..The news agency moved the Court in 2024 alleging unauthorised use of its content by OpenAI to train and operate ChatGPT. In the interim relief application, ANI sought an injunction against OpenAI from using its content. According to ANI's plea, merely because its news content is publicly available, OpenAI does not get a right to exploit it or create copies of it to store.However, OpenAI argued that there cannot be a monopoly on facts and that if any news platform does not want their website accessed by OpenAI, they can get themselves included in the blocklist..In November 2024, the Court had framed the following issues for its consideration: Whether the storage by the defendants [OpenAI] of plaintiff’s [ANI] data (which is in the nature of news and is claimed to be protected under the Copyright Act, 1957) for training its software i.e., ChatGPT, would amount to infringement of plaintiff’s copyright. Whether the use by the defendants of plaintiff’s copyrighted data in order to generate responses for its users, would amount to infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright. Whether the defendants’ use of plaintiff’s copyrighted data qualifies as ‘fair use’ in terms of Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957.Whether the Courts in India have jurisdiction to entertain the present lawsuit considering that the servers of the defendants are located in the United States of America..Considering the importance of the issues involved in the case and that it was a first-of-its-kind suit in India, the Court had appointed advocate Adarsh Ramanujan and Dr Arul George Scaria (professor of Law at National Law School of India University) as amici curiae in the case. Subsequently, several intervention applications were filed in the case, including by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA)..Advocates Sidhant Kumar, Akshit Mago, Manyaa Chandok, Om Batra, Anshika Saxena and Shagun Chopra appeared for ANI. OpenAI was represented by Senior Advocate Amit Sibal as well as advocates Sanjeev Kapoor, Nirupam Lodha, Madhav Khosla, Moha Paranjpe, Gautam Wadhwa, Vanshika Thapliyal, Malika Nandkeolyar, Ankit Handa, Darpan Sachdeva, Rajat Bector and Saksham Dhingra.