US Justice Department backs OpenAI's fair-use defense in NYT lawsuit

The US Department of Justice filed a brief supporting OpenAI's argument that training AI models on copyrighted text qualifies as fair use, in the class-action case brought by the New York Times. The filing directly contradicts an earlier report from the US Copyright Office, whose director was fired by the Trump administration shortly after that report was published.

Why it matters: A DOJ position favoring fair use could sway how courts weigh training-data claims across the dozens of pending AI copyright suits, tilting US policy toward the industry's position while other jurisdictions lean more restrictive. Paired with the earlier firing of the Copyright Office director, it suggests the administration is actively shaping copyright doctrine to favor domestic AI competitiveness over publisher and creator claims.