The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a "Statement of Interest" to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 1 local time, formally intervening in the lawsuit filed by The New York Times against OpenAI over copyright infringement. The DOJ clearly supported OpenAI's position, arguing that AI companies using copyrighted material to train large language models constitutes "fair use" and does not constitute copyright infringement. The document was signed by officials including Deputy Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr.

Supporting OpenAI on the grounds of "National Security" and "Transformative Use"

The DOJ first argued the necessity of supporting OpenAI from the perspective of national security, stating that if copyright rules significantly increase the difficulty of developing large language models in the United States, it could harm the competitiveness of the U.S. AI industry and pose national security risks. The document stated, "Legal rules that make establishing a strong AI industry in the United States significantly more difficult therefore threaten national security and provide a competitive advantage to foreign rivals not subject to such constraints." The Department of Justice also cited an executive order by Trump regarding "removing obstacles to the United States' leadership in AI," stating that AI leadership is crucial for "promoting national security, prosperity, and economic mobility for all Americans."

The DOJ further explained that the use of copyrighted works for training large language models has a "transformative" purpose, meeting the criteria for fair use, and that "the creativity and public benefit brought by large language model training far exceed any competitive harm." The document specifically noted that if the court supports The New York Times' argument, it would "hinder creativity and scientific progress while hindering America's prosperity and economic mobility." Woodward called this document a "historically significant statement of interest."

Plaintiff's Strong Reaction, Judge Requests Motions by September 4

Graham James, a spokesperson for The New York Times, criticized the DOJ's stance: "The government is standing with a handful of trillion-dollar AI companies while sacrificing the rights of countless American creators whose works have been stolen." He stated that AI and creators can both thrive—AI companies just need to fairly pay for the content that made their products possible, as required by copyright law.

Steven Lieberman, chief lawyer for The New York Daily News, pointed out that the government's position "ignores the copyright provisions in the U.S. Constitution" and contradicts the views previously expressed by the U.S. Copyright Office.

The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its partner Microsoft in December 2023, accusing the two companies of illegally using millions of copyrighted news articles to train AI systems and seeking "billions of dollars" in damages. Since then, several other news organizations, including The New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune, along with numerous best-selling authors, have joined this consolidated lawsuit. OpenAI and Microsoft denied the allegations, asserting that their use falls within the scope of fair use.

The DOJ's intervention has escalated this landmark copyright case, and the outcome of the case may establish an important precedent for the legality of AI companies using copyrighted materials to train models. The judge presiding over the case, Sidney Stein, requested that both parties submit motions for summary judgment no later than September 4 local time.