Ziff Davis, the parent company of numerous digital media outlets, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware federal court, accuses OpenAI of misusing Ziff Davis's written works to train its large language models (LLMs) without authorization or compensation. Ziff Davis claims that OpenAI has copied its content verbatim and created derivative works, thereby infringing on its copyright.

Ziff Davis, which owns over 45 media brands, including PCMag, IGN, CNET, Mashable, and Lifehacker, alleges that OpenAI's actions have undermined its ability to monetize user interactions through advertising, product sales commissions, and other revenue streams. The company argues that OpenAI has been falsely attributing statements and text to Ziff Davis that it never published, as well as attributing its content to other parties, thereby tarnishing its brand reputation.

According to the complaint, OpenAI ignored Ziff Davis's requests to stop using its copyright-protected content and rebuffed invitations to discuss the issue. Ziff Davis claims that OpenAI continues to train its models with its content, even after being notified of the alleged infringement. The company also alleges that OpenAI stripped copyright notices from the content it aggregated.

Ziff Davis is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per copyrighted work. The lawsuit asserts violations of federal copyright law, trademark dilution, and unjust enrichment. Ziff Davis's lawsuit is part of a growing wave of legal actions taken by media companies, authors, and artists challenging AI companies over the use of copyrighted materials in training data. OpenAI is also facing lawsuits from other news organizations, such as The New York Times and the New York Daily News.