The New York Times Company filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on December 5 2025, accusing AI search startup Perplexity of copyright infringement. The complaint alleges that Perplexity’s retrieval‑augmented generation technology scrapes the Times’ paywalled articles and delivers near‑verbatim or summarized responses to users without permission or payment.
The suit is part of the Times’ broader strategy to protect its intellectual property amid the rapid expansion of generative‑AI platforms. The company has already filed similar lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, seeking damages and injunctions to prevent the use of its content in AI training and output.
Perplexity’s business model relies on a freemium service that aggregates and summarizes web content, with a paid Pro tier and a publisher‑sharing program. The lawsuit could force the company to alter its content‑acquisition methods, potentially impacting its revenue streams and the viability of its free‑to‑pay model.
The Times’ legal action signals a willingness to use the courts to defend its content and could set a precedent for how publishers negotiate licensing agreements with AI developers. The outcome may influence future licensing negotiations and the broader industry debate over the use of copyrighted material in AI systems.
The lawsuit also reflects the broader tension between traditional media and emerging AI technologies, underscored by the Times’ recent partnership with Amazon to explore AI‑driven content delivery. The case highlights the strategic importance of protecting journalistic content in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
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