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The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft over the use of its journalism in AI development and over outputs it says may reproduce or substitute for Times work. That is not the same as asking a court to make ChatGPT disappear. The defendants dispute the claims, and the case remained unresolved in reporting through September 2026.

What is the New York Times suing OpenAI for?

The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023, alleging that its articles were used without authorization in connection with AI systems. The case raises questions about both how copyrighted material was used to develop those systems and what happens when a system generates responses based on that material. OpenAI disputes the Times’ claims; allegations in a lawsuit are not findings that infringement occurred.

In 2025, a judge allowed the bulk of the publishers’ case to proceed while dismissing some claims. That procedural decision did not decide whether the defendants are liable. The questions reported as unresolved in September 2026 include whether the relevant uses are lawful and whether generated outputs harm publishers by reproducing protected expression or substituting for their work.

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How are training and ChatGPT outputs different legal questions?

The dispute is easier to understand when separated into two issues. Evidence about one does not automatically resolve the other.

Issue What the court must consider What is established
Use in AI development What copyrighted works were used, in what circumstances, and whether that use is lawful or protected by a defense. The Times alleges unauthorized use of its journalism; OpenAI contests the claims. The question was still unresolved in September 2026.
Generated output and market effect Whether outputs reproduce protected expression or substitute for publishers’ work, and what evidence shows about harm. The Times has raised concerns about potentially substitutive outputs. The legal and factual questions remained contested in September 2026.

A dispute over material used in development is not, by itself, proof that ChatGPT reproduces a particular article. Likewise, an example of an output would not alone settle whether the system’s development process was lawful. Each issue requires its own evidence and legal analysis.

Can ChatGPT reproduce Times articles?

The lawsuit includes claims about outputs that may reproduce or substitute for Times work, but the available reporting does not establish a court finding that ChatGPT has infringed the Times’ articles. The allegation and the legal outcome should not be conflated: whether a particular output reproduces protected expression, and what that means for the case, remain matters for evidence and adjudication.

Has the court decided the case?

No final decision on the merits was identified in reporting through September 2026. The 2025 ruling that allowed most of the case to proceed was not a ruling that the Times had proved infringement. Nor does the available status establish a trial date or outcome.

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In July 2026, the Times, the Daily News, and other publishers sought sanctions, alleging that OpenAI had failed to provide important datasets and ChatGPT logs. That describes the publishers’ allegation in a filing; it is not evidence that a court found OpenAI obstructed discovery.

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Does “wants ChatGPT gone” describe the lawsuit?

Not on the record described here. The case is a copyright dispute over AI development and potentially substitutive outputs. The reviewed reporting describes no order removing ChatGPT and does not establish that the Times asked the court to shut down the service. “Gone” is a rhetorical reading of the headline, not a verified account of the case’s requested relief or result.

OpenAI’s public case page presents the company’s account of the dispute and discusses related litigation separately. Its characterization is OpenAI’s position, not a neutral resolution of the Times case. A separate matter involving Raw Story and AlterNet should not be treated as deciding the merits of the Times’ claims.

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