The Delhi High Court has made significant observations on the legality of using news content for training artificial intelligence (AI) systems while hearing the copyright dispute between news agency ANI and OpenAI.
ANI alleged that OpenAI had reproduced and stored its copyrighted news content without authorization for the purpose of training ChatGPT's large language models (LLMs). The agency also contended that AI-generated responses reproduced portions of its copyrighted works and sought an interim injunction restraining such use.
Justice Amit Bansal, however, declined to grant interim relief to ANI, holding that OpenAI had established a prima facie case that the use of publicly available content for AI training could fall within the scope of "fair dealing" under the Copyright Act, 1957.
The Court observed that the process of AI training involves the analysis of vast datasets to identify patterns and relationships rather than reproducing content for commercial exploitation in the traditional sense. The Court further noted that restricting AI developers from accessing publicly available information could adversely impact innovation and the development of AI technologies in India.
In its analysis, the Court examined whether AI training could qualify as research-related activity and whether such use satisfies the statutory requirements of fair dealing. The Court emphasized that copyright law seeks to balance the interests of rights holders with technological progress and public interest.
The judgment also acknowledged that questions concerning AI-generated outputs, potential reproduction of copyrighted works, and the broader regulatory framework governing AI remain complex issues that may require further judicial examination during the final adjudication of the case.
The dispute has become one of India's most closely watched AI-related copyright cases and is expected to influence future litigation involving generative AI platforms, publishers, content creators, and technology companies.
Legal experts view the ruling as a landmark development because it represents the first substantive judicial consideration in India of whether copyrighted news content can be used to train AI systems without obtaining prior licenses from content owners.
While the final determination remains pending, the Delhi High Court's observations provide important guidance on the interaction between copyright law, fair dealing principles, and the emerging AI ecosystem.