Trump administration backs OpenAI in Times copyright fight

The Trump administration has filed a statement of interest supporting OpenAI in The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit, backing the company’s position that training AI models on copyrighted text can qualify as fair use. The New York Times filed its landmark lawsuit in December 2023, alleging that OpenAI unlawfully trained its systems on Times articles and seeking “billions of dollars” in damages from both Microsoft and OpenAI.

US attorneys argued that narrowing fair use to exclude large language model training would conflict with copyright principles and hinder scientific and economic progress. The filing says broad liability that generally makes AI training impermissible without licensing would be legally incorrect, while noting that fair-use analysis depends on the specific facts and uses in each case.

The case could shape how courts handle disputes between media companies and AI developers. Other outlets, including the Center for Investigative Reporting, Chicago Tribune, and New York Daily News, have filed similar lawsuits. In a milestone 2025 decision, a judge found Anthropic could legally train models on lawfully purchased books, while leaving it exposed to piracy liability that led to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors.