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Encyclopaedia Britannica Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Use of Content to Train AI Models

By  |  March 16, 2026
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Encyclopaedia Britannica and its dictionary subsidiary Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in Manhattan federal court, accusing the artificial intelligence company of improperly using their reference materials to train its AI systems, according to Reuters.

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    The complaint, filed Friday, alleges that OpenAI used articles from Britannica’s online encyclopedia as well as entries from its dictionary to help train its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT. According to Reuters, Britannica claims the company relied on large amounts of its content to enable the AI system to generate responses to user prompts.

    Britannica argues that the practice has harmed its business by diverting users away from its websites. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI has effectively “cannibalized” Britannica’s web traffic by producing AI-generated summaries of information that originate from Britannica’s own reference materials, according to Reuters.

    OpenAI rejected the allegations. “Our models empower innovation, and are trained on publicly available data and grounded in fair use,” an OpenAI spokesperson said Monday in response to the lawsuit.

    Representatives and attorneys for Encyclopaedia Britannica did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday, according to Reuters.

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    The dispute is part of a growing wave of lawsuits brought by copyright holders against technology companies over the use of copyrighted materials to train artificial intelligence systems. According to Reuters, authors, publishers and news organizations have increasingly challenged AI developers over whether their training practices violate intellectual property rights.

    Related: OpenAI Accused in Chicago Lawsuit of Acting as Unlicensed Legal Advisor

    Britannica’s filing claims OpenAI copied nearly 100,000 of its articles to train GPT large language models. According to Reuters, the complaint also alleges that ChatGPT sometimes produces “near-verbatim” reproductions of encyclopedia entries, dictionary definitions and other proprietary content.

    The lawsuit further accuses OpenAI of trademark infringement. Britannica alleges the AI system sometimes implies it has authorization to reproduce Britannica material and cites the company in inaccurate AI-generated responses, often referred to as “hallucinations,” according to Reuters.

    Britannica is seeking unspecified financial damages and a court order to stop the alleged misuse of its content.

    According to Reuters, the publisher previously launched a similar legal action last year against AI startup Perplexity AI, a case that is still ongoing. Meanwhile, AI companies including OpenAI maintain that using copyrighted material for training purposes qualifies as fair use because the systems transform the data into new outputs rather than reproducing it directly.

    Source: Reuters