The Verge · AISep 3, 2026, 00:12 UTC+8

Trump administration backs OpenAI in NYT copyright lawsuit

The Trump administration is supporting OpenAI in the NYT copyright lawsuit

The Trump administration filed a statement of interest supporting OpenAI's fair-use defense. The NYT sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023, seeking billions in damages over training on its articles. The post doesn't detail the administration's full legal reasoning beyond opposing a narrow reading of fair use.

Why it matters: A clear policy signal at the federal level with real impact on industry compliance expectations. Held below 85 because the article only gives the government's stance, not the full legal reasoning behind it.

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Take

This one's worth opening because the government stepped in directly. The NYT sued OpenAI and Microsoft in late 2023, seeking billions, and the core fight is whether training on copyrighted articles counts as fair use. The administration's statement of interest takes a clear side: don't read fair use too narrowly, which helps OpenAI.

But the post only gives us a headline and a snippet — no detailed legal reasoning. I'd discount it a bit until we see the full filing. How much weight a statement like this carries with the judge depends entirely on the argument's quality, and that's what's missing here. Also, Microsoft is a co-defendant, and the post doesn't say how the administration handled that angle.

If the full document drops, the thing to watch is how it frames the relationship between training and market substitution for the original work. That's where the real legal line will be drawn.

Source: The Verge · AI · theverge.com
Published: Sep 3, 2026, 00:12 UTC+8 · 27 days ago