Rupert Murdoch’s Dow Jones and the New York Post have initiated legal proceedings against Jeff Bezos-backed AI firm Perplexity, alleging unauthorized use of their content and redirection of traffic to its platforms.
What Happened: On Monday, the News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA)-owned entities claimed that Perplexity has been using their copyrighted material to train its AI, thereby enabling users to circumvent the publishers’ websites, reported CNN.
The lawsuit alleges that Perplexity’s business model involves “massive freeriding” on the plaintiffs’ protected content, competing for the same audience, and depriving them of crucial revenue sources.
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News Corp CEO Robert Thomson accused Perplexity of copying large amounts of copyrighted material without compensation and presenting repurposed material as a direct substitute for the original source.
Perplexity did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
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Why It Matters: The lawsuit comes on the heels of a cease-and-desist letter sent to Perplexity by The New York Times less than a week ago, demanding the startup stop using the newspaper's content.
The Times also sued ChatGPT-parent OpenAI last year for copyright infringement, accusing the company of using its reporting to train its chatbots without permission.
Earlier this year, News Corp signed a significant deal with OpenAI, licensing its news content in an agreement reported to be worth more than $250 million.
Meanwhile, Perplexity has seen its valuation triple in the past year, aiming for an $8 billion valuation in its latest funding round.
The AI startup has also been in talks with top-tier companies like Nike Inc. and Marriott International and is developing a "sponsored" question system to challenge Google's auction-based ads model.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
