[ANI vs. OpenAI] Delhi High Court Refuses Interim Injunction Against ChatGPT Training

In a significant decision on the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law, the Delhi High Court on Friday refused to grant interim relief to news agency Asian News International (ANI) in its copyright infringement suit against OpenAI, holding that the company's use of ANI's news content to train ChatGPT is, at the prima facie stage, protected by the "fair dealing" exception under the Copyright Act.

The bench of Justice Amit Bansal held that ANI had failed to establish a prima facie case for an interim injunction restraining OpenAI from storing and using its content to train the large language models underlying ChatGPT. Court observed that such use is, prima facie, covered by the fair dealing exception for research under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act and therefore does not amount to copyright infringement.

Court also found that ANI had not demonstrated that ChatGPT reproduced or memorised its news reports in a manner that infringed copyright. According to the court, the material placed on record did not establish that the chatbot's responses were substantially similar to ANI's original works.

Refusing the injunction, court further held that the balance of convenience did not favour ANI and observed that restraining OpenAI at the interim stage would cause irreparable injury not only to the company but also to the public at large. However, court clarified that the main copyright suit will continue to be heard on its merits.

Court, however, rejected OpenAI's objection to the maintainability of the suit before Indian courts, holding that the Delhi High Court has territorial jurisdiction to entertain ANI's claims.

ANI had instituted the suit in November 2024, alleging that OpenAI unlawfully used its copyrighted news reports to train ChatGPT without obtaining a licence. The news agency also claimed that ChatGPT generated fabricated stories attributed to ANI, thereby damaging its reputation. OpenAI denied the allegations, contending that its AI systems make lawful use of publicly available material and that AI training is protected under copyright exceptions.

During the course of the proceedings, the Delhi High Court heard extensive arguments from all sides on the scope of copyright protection in the context of generative AI. Court-appointed amicus curiae Arul George Scaria proposed a two-step framework to assess copyright infringement and the applicability of the "fair dealing" exception under Section 52 of the Copyright Act. OpenAI, represented by Senior Advocate Amit Sibal, argued that Indian copyright law does not prohibit the mere use of data, that AI training is akin to reading material, and that "news of the day" and facts are not protected by copyright.

Intervening in support of ANI, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) contended that the unauthorised use of publishers' content by AI platforms threatens the economic sustainability of the news industry by diverting readers and advertising revenue away from original news websites.

Following the conclusion of arguments, the high court had reserved its verdict on March 27, 2026 on the ANI's interim injunction application.

Case Title: ANI MEDIA PVT. LTD. Vs. OPEN AI OPCO LLC

Order Date: July 24, 2026

Bench: Justice Amit Bansal