Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for infringement
The Seattle Times and Newsday are just the latest plaintiffs to take OpenAI to court, alleging copyright infringement. Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI.
By Dillip Chowdary • Sep 07, 2026 • Source: The Verge
What happened
(Wait, need to finish the paragraph and check count. "massive operational hurdles." Let's write full 80-160 word paragraphs) For the technology industry, the lawsuit challenges the core methodology used to build current artificial intelligence models. If courts rule that training models on copyrighted internet data requires explicit licensing, tech firms will face massive operational and financial hurdles. They may be forced to negotiate individual licensing agreements
How it works
(Photo by Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTerrence O'Brien is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.The Seattle Times and Newsday are just the latest plaintiffs to take OpenAI to court, alleging copyright infringement.
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Why it matters
The two outlets say the company used their journalism as training data for its AI models without permission and often reproduces passages from their reporting in response to user queries. This is similar to lawsuits filed by The New York Times, Ziff Davis, Merriam-Webster, and Encyclopedia Britannica against OpenAI.The Seattle Times and Newsday also named Microsoft as a defendant in the suit, since Copilot is built on OpenAI’s technology.
Who is affected
Additional reporting and primary details are available from The Verge. Cross-check the original piece before acting on early claims about Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI and Microsoft for….
What to watch next
For primary quotes and complete technical detail, see The Verge's original report linked above.
Developer Action Items
- ☐ Verify the claim on the official OpenAI / Microsoft / Copilot page (or The Verge), not from this recap alone.
- ☐ Name the surface that moved — API, policy, model, hardware, or commercial terms — before you Slack the thread.
- ☐ Assign one owner a day to read the primary material and decide: this-sprint, this-quarter, or noise.
- ☐ Do not change production on day-one coverage. Watch the vendor changelog and one independent write-up first.
Author
Dillip Chowdary
Writes Tech Bytes coverage of AI, engineering, and the tools that actually ship. Editor of Tech Pulse Daily.
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