America’s Newspapers filed an amicus brief Oct. 30 supporting news publishers in their copyright litigation against OpenAI and Microsoft, urging a federal court to consider the stakes for local newspapers and the communities that depend on them.
The litigation concerns the companies’ use of copyrighted news content without permission to train and operate their artificial intelligence products. OpenAI and Microsoft contend that their use is permitted under copyright law’s fair use doctrine. Publishers are challenging that position, arguing that the companies have used their work to build products that compete for their readers and undermine the revenue needed to produce original reporting.
The case is before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. An amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief allows an organization that is not a party to the litigation to provide relevant arguments and perspective. America’s Newspapers’ filing explains why the court’s decisions could have significant consequences for local publishers nationwide.
“Our brief makes clear that the harm extends beyond a lost website visit,” said Dean Ridings, president and CEO of America’s Newspapers. “When an AI product uses a newspaper’s reporting to answer a question, the newspaper still bears the cost of producing that reporting. Local publishers cannot sustain that work if other companies can take its value without permission or compensation. We want the court to understand what that means for the communities our members serve.”
The brief describes how AI products can use a newspaper’s reporting to answer a reader’s question directly, removing the need to visit the newspaper’s website. That can mean fewer opportunities for the publisher to earn advertising revenue, attract subscribers and build relationships with readers, even as its reporting helps make the AI product useful.
For local newspapers, the filing argues, those losses are especially difficult to absorb. Many operate with narrow margins and small staffs. A decline in revenue can affect their ability to cover school boards, local government, public safety and other issues that receive little sustained attention from national outlets.
Local publishers also face disadvantages in the emerging market for licensing content to AI companies. While some large publishers have negotiated agreements, smaller newspapers often lack the bargaining power and resources to secure comparable deals or monitor how their work is being used. The brief warns that a broad finding of fair use could leave them unable to prevent unauthorized use or demand payment.
The filing also cites research linking the decline of local news to higher government borrowing costs, reduced public accountability and lower civic participation. Its argument is that protecting local newspapers’ work serves a public interest: preserving the reporting residents need to understand their communities and hold officials accountable.
“This is exactly the kind of action America’s Newspapers should take on behalf of its members,” said Pat Dorsey, board chair of America’s Newspapers and publisher of The Santa Fe New Mexican. “Local newspapers need a strong, collective voice when decisions this consequential are being made. Our members invest in reporting that no one else provides, and we have a responsibility to defend the value of that work and their ability to keep serving their communities.”
America’s Newspapers urges the court to grant the news publishers’ motion for partial summary judgment and deny the defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The filing brings local publishers’ distinct concerns into a case whose outcome could shape how AI companies use and pay for news content across the industry.
