Dow Jones and the New York Post have filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, accusing the startup of engaging in widespread copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed on October 21 in the Southern District of New York, alleges that Perplexity AI has been “illegally copying” vast amounts of content from these publications to fuel its AI-driven content generation, according to a report by Reuters.

Part of a larger battle between publishers and AI companies

The lawsuit is the latest development in an ongoing conflict between publishers and technology companies over the use of copyrighted content in artificial intelligence systems. News outlets argue that AI firms are exploiting their valuable work without authorization, a practice that threatens the sustainability of journalism.

“This suit is brought by news publishers who seek redress for Perplexity’s brazen scheme to compete for readers while simultaneously free-riding on the valuable content the publishers produce,” the lawsuit claims.

Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post are both owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Perplexity AI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Perplexity’s role in AI search innovation

Perplexity AI is one of the emerging companies challenging the dominance of traditional search engines, particularly Google. The startup’s platform gathers information from what it considers authoritative websites and presents summaries directly in response to user queries. It utilizes large language models (LLMs), such as OpenAI’s technology and Meta’s open-source LLaMA, to generate these summaries, and cites its sources—although its marketing emphasizes that users can “skip the links.”

Unlike search engines, which lead users to the original sources, Perplexity’s AI-generated responses can replace the need to visit the original content, the publishers argue. This critical distinction forms the basis of the lawsuit.

Publishers claim a significant financial impact

In the legal complaint, Dow Jones and the New York Post emphasize that their journalists work under tight deadlines and unpredictable conditions to produce timely, high-quality content. The publications rely heavily on advertising and subscriptions to fund this work. They argue that Perplexity’s unauthorized use of their articles for AI-generated responses undermines this financial model.

The suit claims that Perplexity’s system has ingested its copyrighted news stories, analysis, and opinion pieces into its database. This database is then used by the AI to respond to users’ questions, at times reproducing the original content verbatim. According to the suit, this practice amounts to illegal copyright infringement.

“Perplexity perpetrates an abuse of intellectual property that harms journalists, writers, publishers, and News Corp,” said Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp, in a statement.

Initial warnings and legal escalation

According to the Reuters report, Dow Jones and the New York Post first raised concerns in July when they sent a letter to Perplexity AI outlining their legal objections. The letter also suggested negotiating a licensing agreement for the use of their content, but Perplexity reportedly did not respond.

The lawsuit seeks to prevent Perplexity from using the news outlets’ content to generate responses and calls for the destruction of any databases containing copyrighted material.

Broader implications for the AI and media industries

News Corp’s lawsuit is part of a growing trend of publishers challenging AI companies over unauthorized content use. The New York Times recently issued a “cease” order to Perplexity, demanding it stop using its content for AI purposes. Perplexity has also faced plagiarism accusations from outlets like Forbes and Wired.

Some AI companies have responded by launching revenue-sharing programs or signing licensing agreements with publishers, though disputes remain over the value of content. AI firms frequently argue that they are operating within legal bounds, accessing publicly available material.

In contrast, News Corp reached a multi-year agreement with OpenAI in May, which CEO Robert Thomson praised, noting the tech company’s understanding that “integrity and creativity are essential” in leveraging AI technology.

Despite Perplexity drawing scrutiny for its practices, industry insiders note that it is not alone in bypassing publisher protections. According to content licensing firm TollBit, many AI companies continue to disregard common web standards designed to prevent scraping, a topic of growing concern for the media industry.