US Government Supports OpenAI in Copyright Fight Over AI Training Data

The U.S. government has entered the legal debate over artificial intelligence training data by filing a brief supporting OpenAI’s position in a copyright lawsuit brought by The New York Times.

In a 20-page court filing, the Trump administration argued that allowing AI companies to continue developing large language models is important for maintaining U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.

The case centres on whether AI companies can use copyrighted works, including books, articles and other published materials, to train large language models without obtaining permission from copyright holders.

AI training and copyright remain under legal debate

AI companies argue that training models on copyrighted material can qualify as fair use, a legal doctrine that allows certain uses of protected works without permission. Publishers and other copyright owners have challenged this argument, claiming that using their content for AI training may violate copyright law.

The government’s brief argued that restricting AI development based on a narrow interpretation of fair use could limit scientific and technological progress. The filing also referenced the administration’s policy goal of maintaining U.S. leadership in AI development.

The legal question remains unresolved, and the government’s filing does not represent a court ruling. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is considering the case, where the final decision will be made.

Previous copyright disputes involving AI companies have produced mixed outcomes. In one case involving Anthropic, a judge found issues related to the company’s use of pirated book collections but did not rule that AI training itself violated copyright law.

The OpenAI case could become an important test of how copyright rules apply to the development of large language models and other generative AI systems.