The Seattle Times and OpenAI announce a partnership
Partnership Disputed 12% confidence first seen
Decision brief
- What changed
- The Seattle Times and Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging the companies used their journalism to train generative AI models without permission. The complaint follows the New York Times’ 2023 lawsuit against the same companies.
- Why it matters
- This raises legal and commercial pressure on how AI companies obtain news content for model training, which can affect licensing strategy, training-data access, and litigation exposure. Business leaders should care because the case adds to a pattern of publisher challenges that could change negotiation dynamics between AI developers and news organizations.
- Evidence
- The provided coverage is a TechCrunch report stating that The Seattle Times and Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged use of their journalism for AI training. The article also situates the filing in the context of the earlier New York Times lawsuit, supporting that this is part of a broader publisher-AI dispute rather than an isolated claim.
- What remains uncertain
- The coverage does not verify the publishers’ allegations or provide OpenAI’s or Microsoft’s legal response in detail. It also does not establish whether this will lead to settlements, licensing deals, court rulings, or operational changes in AI training practices.
- Monitor next
- Watch for OpenAI’s and Microsoft’s formal response to the complaint and any subsequent licensing or settlement discussions with publishers.
Analytical support, not advice — assumptions and open questions stated above.