USA Today Co., Inc. v. OpenAI Foundation
Summary
USA Today Co. is suing OpenAI Foundation for copyright infringement, alleging the AI company used the news publisher's copyrighted articles without permission to train its language models. The lawsuit centers on whether OpenAI's use of USA Today's journalistic content constitutes fair use or unlicensed infringement under federal copyright law.
Summary generated by AI from public docket data. Verify against the original filing before relying on it.
Coverage vs reality meter
Coverage events: 1P · 0D · 1N (7 articles)
Press coverage leans plaintiff-favorable; no court ruling has been classified yet.
Coverage breakdown — the articles behind the meter
5 plaintiff-favorable · 0 defendant-favorable · 2 neutral articles
The meter counts distinct coverage events, not articles: 1 plaintiff · 0 defendant · 1 neutral events — a burst of same-stance coverage counts once, however many outlets ran it.
- USA Today Sues OpenAI for More Than $250 Million Over Alleged Copyright InfringementTekedia · 2026-10-10
- USA Today Sues OpenAI, Demands $250 Million Over Copied ArticlesHoodline · 2026-10-09
- USA Today network, including Courier Journal, sue OpenAILouisville Public Media · 2026-10-09
- USA Today Files $250M Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI 10/09/2026MediaPost · 2026-10-09
None classified yet.
Coverage sentiment vs. docket activity over time
- Court
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- Docket no.
- 1:26-cv-08892
- Nature of suit
- Copyright
- Filed
- 2026-10-08
- Last filing
- 2026-10-08
Cause
17:501 Copyright Infringement
Entities in this case
Docket entries
- #32026-10-08
STATEMENT OF RELATEDNESS re: that this action be filed as related to 1:25-md-03143-SHS-OTW. Document filed by CA Florida Holdings, LLC, CA North Carolina Holdings, Inc., DETROIT FREE PRESS, INC., Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, Detroit Newspaper Partnership, L.P., Gannett GP Media, Inc., Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC, GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings II, Inc., GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc., Journal Sentinel, Inc., PHOENIX NEWSPAPERS INC., Scripps NP Operating, LLC, The Courier- Journal, Inc., USA Today Co., Inc...(Lieberman, Steven) (Entered: 10/08/2026)
- #22026-10-08
CIVIL COVER SHEET filed..(Lieberman, Steven) (Entered: 10/08/2026)
- #12026-10-08
COMPLAINT against OAI Corporation, OAI International, Inc., OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI GP, L.L.C, OpenAI Global, L.L.C., OpenAI Group PBC, OpenAI OpCo, L.L.C.. (Filing Fee $ 405.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-33577969)Document filed by GateHouse Media Oklahoma Holdings, Inc., Detroit Newspaper Partnership, L.P., Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC, USA Today Co., Inc., GateHouse Media Ohio Holdings II, Inc., DETROIT FREE PRESS, INC., Gannett GP Media, Inc., Scripps NP Operating, LLC, Journal Sentinel, Inc., PHOENIX NEWSPAPERS INC., CA Florida Holdings, LLC, The Courier- Journal, Inc., CA North Carolina Holdings, Inc., Des Moines Register and Tribune Company. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Copyright Registrations, # 2 Exhibit B - GPT-5.6 Output Examples).(Lieberman, Steven) (Entered: 10/08/2026)
Docket history from CourtListener/RECAP — most recent first.