Business Services
NYT vs. OpenAI: Media Agencies Deserve Regular Payments for Intellectual Property in the AI Era
Media companies are forcing a reckoning over who profits when AI systems train on published content
Key takeaways
The NYT vs. OpenAI lawsuit highlights the tension between AI development and intellectual property rights for media companies.
Media organizations argue they should receive ongoing compensation when their content is used to train AI models.
The outcome of this legal battle could establish industry-wide standards for AI licensing and content compensation.
In the wake of The New York Times' lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft for allegedly using its content without compensation, the media industry faces a pivotal moment in defining the value of its intellectual property in the AI era. This legal action underscores a growing concern: How should media outlets be compensated for the use of their content by AI technologies like large language models, and what does this mean for the protection of intellectual property in the AI era?
Joanna Dodd Massey, Ph.D., an Independent Director at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with a rich background in technology, psychology, and media, and former communications leader at major corporations like CBS and Condé Nast, offered a compelling perspective on this issue.
"The question is, how much should they be paid? So, and I think there's two levels to that payment, in my estimation. One of them is, how much should they be paid for the information that was used to initially train the LLMs? And then the second question is, how much should they continue to be paid on a regular basis to allow the LLMs access into their databases to continue to be trained and to continue to be able to give out information?" Dr. Massey said.
How much should they continue to be paid on a regular basis to allow the LLMs access into their databases to continue to be trained and to continue to be able to give out information?
— Joanna Dodd Massey, Ph.D., Independent Director at Hollywood Foreign Press Association
About the author
Dr. Joanna Dodd Massey is a seasoned C-level communications executive and Board Director with more than 25 years of experience in the media industry at companies such as Condé Nast, Lionsgate, CBS, Viacom, Discovery and Hasbro. She has managed crisis communications, brand reputation, culture transformation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and multi-million-dollar P&Ls. Currently, Dr. Massey is President & CEO of J. D. Massey Associates, Inc. (JDMA), which provides marketing communications services, executive training and business publishing by using neuroscience and communications tactics to help management teams influence internal and external stakeholders. She is also a sought-after corporate speaker, a Board Director for startups and nonprofits, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and the author of two books, CultureShock: Surviving Five Generations in One Workplace and Communicating During a Crisis: Influencing Others When the Stakes AreHigh.
