Fact Checking

(Media News) News Corp Sues AI Search Engine Perplexity Over Copyright Infringement

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News Corp subsidiaries Dow Jones and NYP Holdings have filed a lawsuit against AI-powered search engine Perplexity for copyright and trademark infringement. Filed in the Southern District of New York, the suit demands significant damages and the removal of News Corp content from Perplexity’s database. Damages sought include “three times actual damages” and $150,000 for every instance of unauthorized content reproduction.

Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, and NYP Holdings, publisher of the New York Post, accuse Perplexity of profiting from content created by their journalists without permission or compensation. They argue that Perplexity’s model of “retrieval augmented generation” (RAG) allows users to bypass original sources, depriving publishers of critical ad revenue.

News Corp also claims Perplexity risks introducing false information, potentially damaging its trademarks. Although Perplexity provides small citations for sources, the lawsuit dismisses this as insufficient, emphasizing that News Corp’s professional journalists depend on the protection and monetization of their intellectual property. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson condemned Perplexity, calling the practice an “abuse of intellectual property.”

Perplexity has partnered with a few publishers to share ad revenue but continues to use content from those without agreements. News Corp, however, has struck a $250 million deal with OpenAI to license its content.