Trump administration backs OpenAI in NYT copyright lawsuit

2026-09-03 | Source: The Verge | Original article

The Trump administration has intervened in the New York Times’ December 2023 copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, arguing in favor of the AI lab.

The Trump administration has filed an amicus brief in The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, arguing that the AI lab’s use of newspaper articles falls under fair use. The brief, filed within hours of the administration’s public statement, backs OpenAI’s position that training large language models on publicly available text does not constitute infringement. The case, launched in December 2023, alleges that OpenAI and its partner Microsoft trained their systems on the Times’ articles without permission and seeks monetary damages. The intervention adds a high‑level policy voice to a dispute that has already drawn support from the Justice Department, which we reported on 3 September 2026. By aligning the executive branch with OpenAI, the administration signals a broader governmental stance that AI development should not be hamstrung by retroactive copyright claims. Industry observers say the brief could sway the court’s interpretation of fair use, especially as similar lawsuits loom from other major publishers, book imprints and record labels. The move also raises questions about the future regulatory framework for AI training data. Watch for the court’s response to the amicus brief and any subsequent rulings that could set precedent for the burgeoning “AI‑training” litigation wave. Equally important will be reactions from the publishing sector, which may intensify lobbying for legislative clarification, and from AI firms, which are likely to cite the administration’s position in their own legal defenses. The outcome could shape how copyrighted material is leveraged across the AI industry for years to come.

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