CNN Sues Perplexity Over Alleged Copyright Infringement
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CNN has filed a federal lawsuit against Perplexity, alleging the AI company scraped and used over 17,000 CNN stories, photos, and videos without permission. The lawsuit follows failed licensing negotiations between the two parties last year. CNN is seeking damages and a court order to stop Perplexity from using its content.
Facts First
- CNN filed a federal lawsuit against Perplexity for copyright and trademark infringement.
- The complaint alleges Perplexity scraped over 17,000 items of CNN content to train its products.
- CNN and Perplexity failed to reach a licensing deal last year, leading CNN to block Perplexity's scraping bot.
- CNN seeks statutory damages and an injunction to stop Perplexity from using its content.
- Other major publishers, including The New York Times and Dow Jones, have filed similar lawsuits against Perplexity.
What Happened
CNN filed a 54-page lawsuit against Perplexity in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday. The lawsuit alleges Perplexity infringed on CNN's copyrights and trademarks by copying and distributing content without consent. Specifically, the complaint accuses Perplexity of scraping more than 17,000 CNN stories, photos, videos, and other content to train its products. CNN stated it engaged in negotiations with Perplexity last year regarding a deal, but the parties could not agree on terms, including restrictions on chatbot usage of CNN content. Following the failed negotiations, CNN blocked Perplexity's scraping bot from accessing its content.
Why this Matters to You
If you use AI tools for news summaries, this lawsuit highlights a growing conflict over how these services source their information. The outcome could influence the accuracy and sourcing of the news summaries you receive from AI platforms. It may also affect the business models of news publishers, potentially impacting their ability to fund original reporting.
What's Next
The court will now process CNN's complaint, which asks for statutory damages and an order for Perplexity to discontinue using its content. Perplexity's response to the lawsuit will be a key next step; the company did not respond to an immediate request for comment regarding the CNN lawsuit. Similar lawsuits from other major publishers are proceeding concurrently, which could lead to broader legal precedents governing how AI companies use copyrighted news content.