Perplexity AI Loses Bid for Dow Jones’ IP Investigation Files

Perplexity AI Inc.’s accusations that the publisher of The Wall Street Journal used burner accounts and fake identities to make its answer engine generate copyright-infringing outputs weren’t enough to get access to news outlets’ pre-lawsuit investigation materials, a judge ruled.

“I am someone who has pretty firm views about the attorney-client privilege,” Judge Katherine Polk Failla said at a hearing Friday, and the publishers didn’t waive that privilege by including examples of prompts that caused Perplexity’s engine to spew verbatim articles in their infringement complaint.

She denied Perplexity’s motion to compel Dow Jones & Co. and NYP Holdings Inc. to …