Tags: Merriam-Webster

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of massive copyright infringement for scraping nearly 100,000 of their online articles to train its large language models. The complaint alleges that ChatGPT reproduces Britannica content, reduces web traffic and revenue, and violates trademark law. The case joins a growing wave of legal actions by publishers against AI firms, highlighting unresolved questions about the legality of using copyrighted material for AI training. A prior Anthropic case showed mixed rulings, underscoring the uncertainty that will shape future AI‑content use. Weiterlesen

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam‑Webster have filed a copyright and trademark lawsuit against OpenAI in the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that OpenAI used thousands of the publishers’ articles as training data for ChatGPT and then generated responses that reproduce the content without permission, harming the publishers’ revenue and brand reputation. The case mirrors a prior suit against Perplexity and may be consolidated into a larger multidistrict litigation involving other news publishers. Weiterlesen

Merriam-Webster has selected “slop” as its 2025 word of the year, defining it as low‑quality digital content produced in large volumes by artificial intelligence. The term captures growing concerns about AI‑generated material flooding major online platforms such as YouTube, Wikipedia, Spotify and Pinterest. While some sites work to curb the spread, others—including Meta, OpenAI and Disney—are embracing AI‑driven video services. Merriam-Webster also highlighted other notable words from the year, underscoring the cultural impact of AI on language and internet culture. Weiterlesen

Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster have filed a federal lawsuit against AI search company Perplexity, alleging that the firm scrapes their sites, copies definitions, and misuses their trademarks. The complaint claims Perplexity’s answer engine steals copyrighted material, diverts web traffic, and attaches the publishers’ names to inaccurate or incomplete content. Backed by investors such as Jeff Bezos, Perplexity has faced similar legal challenges from News Corp and other media outlets, while also partnering with publications like Time and the Los Angeles Times and launching a chatbot with World History Encyclopedia. Weiterlesen

Merriam-Webster and its parent company, Encyclopedia Britannica, have filed a lawsuit against AI answer engine Perplexity, alleging that the platform unlawfully copies their copyrighted content and attributes false or inaccurate information to them. The complaint seeks monetary damages and an injunction to stop the alleged misuse. The filing also notes that Perplexity’s technology diverts user clicks away from publishers, potentially harming their revenue. This is not the company's first legal challenge; prior suits have been brought by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Japanese media firms Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun. Weiterlesen