“ANI is seeking damages of ₹2 crore (approximately $232,000).” Yeah, it’s not like OpenAI is going to lose any sleep over that sort of money. Meaning it may well buy an out-of-court settlement.

The Delhi High Court has denied OpenAI’s request to first determine its jurisdiction before considering the copyright infringement suit filed by Asian News International (ANI). The court will hear arguments on both jurisdiction and merits on February 21, 2025.

Key Points

Justice Amit Bansal ruled that jurisdiction will be considered alongside the merits of the case.

OpenAI sought to have the court’s jurisdiction decided as a preliminary issue, but this was rejected.

OpenAI argued that courts in California have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter, as the servers are located outside India.

ANI’s suit claims OpenAI used its original news content without authorization for training its now famous/notorious (delete as appropriate) AI model, ChatGPT.

ANI is seeking damages of ₹2 crore (approximately $232,000).

The court also issued notice to digital arms of three major news publishers and industry body Digital News Publishers Association, seeking intervention in the case.

The case is being closely watched as it could set a precedent for copyright protection in the digital age, although any precedent set in India is not going to influence a court in the USA.

Fair Use Argument

OpenAI is making a fair use argument, claiming that its use of ANI’s copyrighted material falls under the exceptions provided by Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957, which includes purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.

The View From The Beach:

“ANI is seeking damages of ₹2 crore (approximately $232,000).”

Yeah, it’s not like OpenAI is going to lose any sleep over that sort of money. Meaning it may well buy an out-of-court settlement.

And that, IMHO, is why other players in India are now rushing to climb on board. It’s a given OpenAi can and likely will buy their acquiescence to avoid a possible negative court ruling.

The only reason for AI not to settle out of court is if there are clear and unambiguous signals that the High Court is favouring the fair play case OpenAI is making.

Again, a court ruling in India would have no bearing on US court decisions, but would be a huge boost to OpenAI’s image.