Is AI 'studying' news articles really copyright infringement?

Is it really a problem for AI to read articles and become smarter?

Imagine how you would feel if someone took a novel or an article that you had painstakingly written over several months and used it to teach an AI without your permission. As AI becomes smarter, this debate over ‘data copyright’ is heating up.

Recently, major news organizations like The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that their articles were used as training data without authorization. In this complex legal battle, the US government has made its voice heard in an unexpected way—by siding with OpenAI. Source 10, Source 11

Why does this matter?

This news goes beyond a mere corporate clash; it could serve as a crucial benchmark for how the AI we use will evolve in the future. Simply put, if AI companies had to ask every author, journalist, and artist for permission and pay them each time they trained a model, the convenient AI technology we experience today might not have advanced as rapidly. Source 2

The US government judges AI technology to be at the core of future economic and national competitiveness, and with this decision, it has essentially provided a defensive shield to ensure that AI innovation is not stifled. Source 5, Source 8

Easy to understand: The metaphor of ‘Cookbooks’ and ‘AI Training’

Why does the government argue that this is not ‘copyright infringement’? It can be compared to a ‘cookbook’.

A chef (a news organization) publishes a book containing excellent recipes. An AI model reads and studies tens of thousands of cookbooks from around the world, including this one. The reason the AI reads these cookbooks is not to copy and sell the exact same books. It is to combine recipes from all over the world to create a ‘new taste.’

The government describes this AI training process as ‘transformative’. Source 3 In other words, the logic is that because AI does not simply transcribe data but processes and utilizes it into an entirely new form, it falls under the category of ‘Fair Use’ in copyright law (the right to use copyrighted material exceptionally without the copyright holder’s permission). Source 12

How far has it come?

Currently, companies like OpenAI are already using vast amounts of internet data—blog posts, articles, and books that we have written—to form databases for training. Source 1

The government has also determined that AI models do not substantially compete with the articles of existing news organizations. Source 3 It even views the AI’s provision of new competitiveness that can challenge media giants as a positive development. Source 13

What will happen next?

With the government’s submission of this legal brief, the tide of copyright litigation has tipped in favor of AI companies. Source 2, Source 7 Of course, the backlash from news organizations and creators remains strong. They criticize corporations for ‘free-riding’ on the efforts of others. Source 13

We are now in the process of finding an answer to the massive question: ‘Is it justifiable for AI to learn from human knowledge and creativity?’ It is a time that requires deeper discussion for legal and social consensus on how to protect the rights of creators while encouraging technological progress.

MindTickleBytes AI Reporter’s Perspective

Permitting freedom in AI training for the sake of national competitiveness is a decision with a clear intent. However, if the news ecosystem collapses, the high-quality data that AI needs to learn from will eventually disappear. It is time to consider new revenue models or legal protections that can safeguard both technological advancement and human creativity.

References

1. US government sides with OpenAI on issue of training LLMs on copyrighted material
2. US Government Backs OpenAI on Copyrighted Material for AI Training

3. [Trump Administration Sides With OpenAI in New York Times Lawsuit

   WIRED](https://www.wired.com/story/trump-administration-sides-with-ai-giants-new-york-times-lawsuit/)

4. Trump Administration Backs OpenAI in Landmark AI Copyright Fight
5. Donald Trump Administration Sides With OpenAI… - Reality Tea
6. Donald Trump Administration Sides With OpenAI Against Media Giants - Mandatory
7. US government sides with OpenAI on issue of training LLMs on copyrighted material: »it is critical for the United States to ‘retain global leadership in artificial intelligence.« - Europe Pub
8. Government sides with OpenAI in New York Times copyright battle
9. Predictably, Trump sides with OpenAI against human journalists

10. [US government backs OpenAI in New York Times copyright case

    The Star](https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2026/09/02/us-government-backs-openai-in-new-york-times-copyright-case)

11. Trump Administration Sides With OpenAI in Publishers’ Copyright Lawsuits