CNN sues Perplexity over ‘unlawful’ AI copyright theft

CNN filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence startup
Perplexity on Thursday, claiming the company “unlawfully copied and
distributed” the news media’s content, AzerNEWS
reports.

“The public rely on high quality news journalism reported by
human beings to understand their world, which is frequently
dangerous and expensive to produce. Commercial operators can and
must pay to make use of it,” CNN said in a statement.

Over the past year, the AI startup has also been the target of
multiple lawsuits based on similar allegations, including those
from Reddit and the New York Times.

The filing in the United States District Court for the Southern
District of New York indicates that CNN sought to strike a content
deal with Perplexity last year but did not agree on terms.

“As a result, before and after Perplexity’s negotiations with
CNN, Perplexity knew that it was not permitted to access CNN’s
content or to use its trademarks or service marks,” the lawsuit
states.

The network emphasized in a statement that it “actively embraces
the opportunities AI creates” and has “multiple commercial
partnerships, active agreements, and ongoing discussions with
responsible industry players.”

One such deal, with Meta, was publicly reported last
December.

The statement said CNN would prefer “sensible licensing
arrangements” with operators, “but if they refuse to do that, as
Perplexity has so far refused to do, they will have to pay…