A lawsuit brought by Canadian news organizations against OpenAI can move forward in Ontario, the province’s top court ruled Friday, dismissing the tech giant’s argument that its lack of a physical presence in Ontario means the lawsuit should be heard in the United States.
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lawsuit → bring → States
The copyright lawsuit, filed by a coalition of media organizations including the Toronto Star, alleges the tech giant illegally used news articles to train its generative AI software ChatGPT and is now profiting unjustly.
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giant → file → software
California-based OpenAI had been looking to overturn a decision made last year by Superior Court Justice Jessica Kimmel, who concluded that the case was “sufficiently connected to Ontario” with three OpenAI-affiliated companies named in the lawsuit — OpenAI OpCo, LLC, OpenAI, LLC, and OpenAI, Inc. — being identified as doing business in the province.
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companies → base → province
Writing for a unanimous three-judge appeal panel, Justice Bradley Miller said Kimmel did not err in her findings, including that at least some of the affiliated companies “either made contractual arrangements in Ontario, advertised to users including in Ontario, or licensed their tools to customers either directly or through third parties.”
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some → write → parties
In other words, Miller wrote, the lower-court judge had found multiple instances of the companies carrying on business in Ontario.
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companies → write → Ontario
The companies relied “heavily” on the argument that they didn’t have a physical presence in Ontario, Miller noted, but he said the case law cited by the appellants didn’t support their argument.
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law → rely → argument
He said Kimmel was not wrong to find that “there was a good arguable case that the appellants carried on business in Ontario for the context of assumed jurisdiction, even without a physical presence.
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appellants → say → presence
“This decision matters well beyond the news media industry,” said lawyer Sana Halwani of the firm of Lenczner Slaght LLP, which represented the news media organizations.
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which → matter → organizations
“Digital businesses earn money from Canadian content and users, and their activity reaches into Canada.
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activity → earn → Canada
When disputes arise, they must answer to Canadian law in Canadian courts.
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they → arise → courts
The media companies welcome technological innovations; however, all participants must follow the law, Lenczner Slaght LLP said in a written statement.
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LLP → welcome → statement
“Canadian journalism is created by Canadians, for Canadians, at significant cost.
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journalism → create → cost
We look forward to having our clients’ claims decided on their merits by a Canadian court,” the firm said.
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firm → look → court
NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition of online safety and consumer advocacy groups on Thursday sued five of the world’s leading artificial intelligence…
NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition of online safety and consumer advocacy groups on Thursday sued five of the world’s leading artificial intelligence…
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coalition → sue → intelligence
OpenAI can still choose to ask the Supreme Court of Canada for permission to hear its appeal, although the country’s top court only agrees to hear a small number of cases from the Ontario Court of Appeal.
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court → choose → Appeal
The court ordered OpenAI to pay $100,000 in legal costs.
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court → order → costs
ChatGPT and other popular AI models have become the subject of litigation on a number of fronts.
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ChatGPT → become → fronts
Similar copyright infringement lawsuits are ongoing against OpenAI in the U.S., including one filed by the New York Times in 2023.
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lawsuits → include → 2023
According to the Times, eleven other publishers have joined the suit, which remains before a U.S. court in New York.
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which → accord → York
In a California court on Thursday, a coalition of online safety and consumer advocacy groups sued a group of leading AI firms, including OpenAI, to halt development, alleging the giants are unable to prevent the risk of “catastrophic” harm caused by their advancing AI models.
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giants → sue → models
The Aporia
