Delhi High Court Hears ANI vs OpenAI Copyright Case: DNPA Warns ChatGPT Threatens Survival of News Industry
The Delhi High Court on August 18, 2025, heard arguments in the ongoing copyright infringement suit filed by ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. against OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. The case, which could reshape the future of copyright law in the age of artificial intelligence, has drawn widespread attention from India’s news publishing industry.
Appearing before Justice Amit Bansal, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) warned that unchecked use of copyrighted news content by AI platforms like ChatGPT “reduces the incentive to create” and undermines both the viability and creativity of journalism.
Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, representing DNPA, argued that ChatGPT freely uses journalistic content without consent or compensation, threatening the survival of news organisations. “Today we are dealing with something that says it is ChatGPT but effectively reduces my incentive to create, because whatever I do is being taken away… ChatGPT is, in fact, on a lighter note, Chaat GPT,” Rao said.
He cautioned that if such practices continued, “a large chunk of my population will die out, because it will no longer be viable for us to continue offering that service,” adding that this ultimately harms public interest, which copyright law is meant to protect.
On the other side, an intervener representing AI-based shopping platform Zoop supported ChatGPT, arguing that the tool does not reproduce copyrighted works verbatim but instead synthesises and compiles publicly available information. Counsel submitted that such outputs are closer to derivative works under copyright law. “There is neither reproduction of the whole work nor any substantial part thereof, and mere storage per se does not constitute infringement,” the counsel said.
The Court noted that intervenors were in the process of concluding their submissions. The next stages will include rebuttals by OpenAI, followed by a final summarisation from the amicus curiae appointed by the Court Adarsh Ramanujan and Dr. Arul George Scaria.
Earlier, ANI alleged that OpenAI had infringed its copyright by using ANI’s news content to train ChatGPT without authorisation, in violation of the Copyright Act, 1957. In response, OpenAI raised a preliminary objection on jurisdiction, arguing that since it does not operate in India and its servers are located outside India, no cause of action arises here. ANI has already blocklisted its domain “www.aninews.in” from being used in AI training as of October 2024.
The case has seen multiple interventions from industry bodies. Along with DNPA, the Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) has also sought to join proceedings, citing similar risks posed by AI systems making unauthorised use of copyrighted content.
The outcome of ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. vs OpenAI OpCo LLC will have far-reaching implications for copyright law, AI regulation, and the survival of digital news publishers in India. Legal experts say the ruling could set the tone for how courts across the world approach disputes over AI training data, copyright protection, and the rights of publishers in the digital era.
Case Title: ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. v. OpenAI OpCo LLC
Hearing Date: 18 August 2025
Bench: Justice Amit Bansal