The Trump administration is supporting OpenAI in the NYT copyright
The Trump administration has intervened in The New York Times' copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, making an argument in favor of the AI lab.
By Dillip Chowdary • Sep 02, 2026 • Source: The Verge
What happened
The Trump administration has officially intervened in the ongoing copyright lawsuit between The New York Times and OpenAI. By submitting a formal filing, the federal government has positioned itself in support of the artificial intelligence laboratory, signaling a significant shift in how the executive branch views copyright law in the era of generative technology. The underlying legal battle, which began when the publication filed its complaint, centers on whether tech companies can use copyrighted news articles to train their
How it works
It’s argued previously that AI training should count as fair use, making the case in its National AI Legislative Framework. Trump also holds a personal animus toward the Times, against which he is currently pursuing a defamation suit.The Times case could set precedent for other media outlets frustrated over AI systems training on their work.
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Why it matters
Copyright disagreements between media outlets and AI labs have intensified in recent years, including lawsuits from the Center for Investigative Reporting, Chicago Tribune, and New York Daily News. “But it would be problematic — and legally incorrect — to impose broad copyright liability that would generally render training of Al models impermissible without licensing.
Who is affected
Read the original coverage at The Verge via the source link above for the complete details and primary quotes.
What to watch next
Cross-check release notes and official docs before changing production systems based on early reporting.
Developer Action Items
- ☐ Diff the official changelog for OpenAI / Framework before you bump — APIs, defaults, and removed flags only.
- ☐ Install through the vendor's documented channel in staging; keep a one-command rollback and time-box the canary.
- ☐ Grep your repo for old flag names, lockfile pins, and plugin versions that the notes mark as breaking.
- ☐ Prefer the first patch cut over the day-zero tag unless you have a reason to be on the leading edge.
- ☐ If The Verge did not name a region, plan, or SKU, screenshot the official availability line before you promise it to users.
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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