New York Times Sues Perplexity, Alleging Copyright Violations and Damage to Brand

Core Viewpoint - The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against the AI startup Perplexity, alleging repeated copyright violations and competitive practices that harm the publisher's brand [1][2]. Group 1: Lawsuit Details - The lawsuit claims that Perplexity's AI-powered search engine retrieves and displays large portions of The Times' content, competing directly with the publisher [2]. - The suit also alleges that Perplexity has made up information and falsely attributed it to The Times, damaging the publisher's brand [2]. - The New York Times had previously contacted Perplexity multiple times over the past 18 months, requesting that it cease using its content until an agreement was reached [3]. Group 2: Industry Context - Perplexity's Head of Communication stated that publishers have historically sued new technology companies, suggesting that such lawsuits have not been successful in the past [4]. - The New York Times had signed its first licensing agreement for generative AI content use with Amazon in May, allowing the latter to utilize its content for AI training [5]. - Other companies, including Reddit and Japanese media firms Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun, have also filed lawsuits against Perplexity for unauthorized content use and copyright infringement [5][6]. Group 3: Impact on Credibility - The lawsuits from various publishers claim that Perplexity's AI-generated answers have provided inaccurate information attributed to their articles, which severely damages their credibility [6][7].