The New York Times has initiated legal action against Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, for using its content in search results. The publisher recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to the AI startup, accusing it of using its content without proper authorisation.
Perplexity has Jeff Bezos’s backing, and the platform aims to challenge Google in the search engine landscape. Using AI to generate summaries of web content, the platform has recently attracted legal troubles from publishers like the NYT, Forbes, and Conde Nast. All these platforms claim Perplexity is using their material without permission.
In the cease-and-desist letter, The Times asserted that Perplexity’s approach violates copyright law by summarising and repurposing its “expressive, carefully written and researched” journalism, reports WSJ.
The Times emphasised that it has taken technological steps to prevent its content from being scraped — using code to block access — but alleges Perplexity has ignored these measures.
Perplexity’s CEO, Arvind Srinivas, acknowledged the letter from The Times and confirmed that the company intends to respond by the stated deadline of October 30. “WE have no interest in being anyone’s antagonist,” Srinivas stated, signalling the company’s openness to finding a mutually beneficial solution with the publisher.
Srinivas also noted that Perplexity is actively engaging with publishers. However, the exact terms of these agreements differ from the substantial licensing deals some publishers have signed with other AI firms.
The New York Times has initiated a similar action against OpenAI, alleging copyright violations.
While some publishers are still hesitant about AI’s ability to protect original content, others have finalised deals with AI companies to generate revenue from data-sharing agreements. Most publishers also fear that with the increasing use of AI-powered search engines, website traffic could diminish.
Recently, OpenAI and Hearst entered into a content-sharing agreement. Similarly, OpenAI entered into a deal with Conde Nast, The Atlantic, Vox Media, News Corp, and Financial Times.
As WSJ notes, unlike OpenAI, which has struck high-value licensing deals with the media giants, Perplexity’s offers to publishers reportedly pale in comparison. Nonetheless, Perplexity is beginning to generate modest amounts of referral traffic to some sites.
The AI startup is also preparing to introduce an ad-based revenue model that plans to share up to 25% of ad profits with publishers whose content it users. However, some publishers have accused the start-up of not just summarising their content but creating AI-generated articles that closely mimic original reporting, further inflaming the issue.
In the News: Automattic planned to enforce WordPress trademark since January
