 "Delhi HC has jurisdiction in OpenAI copyright case: Court-appointed experts")
The Delhi High Court has jurisdiction to hear a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, two amici curiae (neutral legal experts) appointed by the court said in their submissions, as reported by The Hindustan Times on Thursday. They noted that jurisdiction under the Indian Copyright Act is determined by the plaintiff’s place of business, which is New Delhi in this case. This submission came in regard to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by news agency ANI against OpenAI.
ANI’s lawsuit against OpenAI
In November 2024, news agency ANI filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against artificial intelligence giant OpenAI with the Delhi HC. The lawsuit claimed that OpenAI had trained its software using its copyrighted literary works. In light of this, a single-judge bench of Justice Amit Bansal appointed academic Arul George Scaria and lawyer Adarsh Ramanajun as amici curia to determine whether the court had jurisdiction over the case.
OpenAI asks Delhi HC to junk case
Earlier OpenAI had denied Indian jurisdiction arguing that its servers are in the US. It also added that it could not delete data as it was currently defending a similar lawsuit in the US that required all data be frozen,
Delhi HC jurisdiction in OpenAI case
Both appointed amici curiae confirmed that the court has jurisdiction since ANI operates out of New Delhi. However, they differed on whether OpenAI’s use of ANI’s data amounted to copyright infringement or ‘fair use’.
Amicus Arul George Scaria argued that storing copyrighted material for AI learning is allowed under the Copyright Act, but the court must determine if OpenAI uses it beyond training. Meanwhile, Adarsh Ramanujan contended that OpenAI’s reproduction of ANI’s content during training amounts to infringement. If the Delhi High Court rules in ANI’s favour, OpenAI could face multiple lawsuits from Indian media houses.
Global copyright disputes against OpenAI
The case is part of a global wave of copyright disputes against AI companies. Authors, news outlets, and musicians worldwide have accused firms of using copyrighted material to train AI models.
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OpenAI is also facing legal action from Indian book publishers, billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, and media groups like The Indian Express and Hindustan Times for allegedly using their content without permission.
Last week, global publishers based in India, including Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, and Cambridge University Press, also filed a copyright case in New Delhi. They argue that OpenAI’s business in India means it should follow Indian copyright laws.
Can Delhi HC ruling set global AI precedence?
In the US, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and other publishers have sued OpenAI, arguing that its AI models unlawfully use their content. Similar lawsuits have also been filed in European countries with courts considering whether AI training counts as copyright infringement.
The Delhi High Court will now have to decide whether OpenAI has to delete ANI’s data from its training models. Rule on whether training AI on copyrighted material is legal in India and determine if OpenAI’s ‘opt-out’ option is effective enough to protect publishers. The Delhi High Court’s ruling will be key in setting precedent for how global companies operate in India and for AI copyright disputes.