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The complaint cites internal communications as evidence of deliberate targeting of news content. Its allegations have not been adjudicated.
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The publishers say OpenAI copied hundreds of thousands of articles to train its models and products, including ChatGPT, and seek more than $250 million in damages. They also allege internal communications show OpenAI deliberately targeted news content, but the claims have not been adjudicated. The case adds another copyright dispute over AI training data; its outcome could affect how publishers and AI companies assess the legal risks of using journalism, but no ruling has been made.
The complaint covers content from 19 publications, including the Indy Star, The Arizona Republic and the Detroit Free Press.
USA TODAY Co. filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 8, 2026.
The lawsuit joins copyright cases involving The New York Times, The Intercept, Ziff Davis, CBC/Radio-Canada, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster.
USA TODAY Co. and several newspapers it owns sued OpenAI on October 8, 2026, alleging that it used their journalism without permission to train AI. The publishers are seeking more than $250 million. The complaint covers work from 19 publications and targets training for models and consumer products including ChatGPT.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It puts USA TODAY Co. and its regional and local outlets on the same side of a copyright dispute over OpenAI’s use of published reporting to train its systems.
The publishers allege that OpenAI copied hundreds of thousands of articles without authorization, harming the publisher and its outlets. Crypto Briefing, citing The Verge, reports that the complaint identifies the copying as a means of obtaining material for AI training.
The complaint also cites OpenAI’s internal communications as evidence that the company deliberately targeted news content, according to Bloomberg Law. That allegation concerns how the material was selected, alongside the publishers’ claim that OpenAI accessed copyrighted work illicitly. The claims have not been adjudicated.
The amount is the publishers’ demand, not a court award.
The plaintiffs say they own copyrights to content published across the 19 publications. Bloomberg Law identifies Indy Star, The Arizona Republic and the Detroit Free Press among them. Crypto Briefing also names The Tennessean, The Columbus Dispatch and The Oklahoman. The filing therefore extends beyond the national USA TODAY newspaper.
The lawsuit joins publisher copyright litigation involving The New York Times, The Intercept, Ziff Davis, CBC/Radio-Canada, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster. OpenAI had not responded to The Verge’s request for comment when its report was published, according to Crypto Briefing.
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