- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Encyclopedia Britannica Sues OpenAI Over AI Training Data
Lawsuit alleges ChatGPT 'cannibalizes' Britannica's traffic by copying its content
Mar. 16, 2026 at 10:10pm
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, accusing it of copyright infringement. The complaint alleges that OpenAI has pilfered Britannica's content, including nearly 100,000 online articles, to train its AI models and generate answers that 'copy or mimic, sometimes verbatim,' Britannica's material. The encyclopedia is seeking damages and restitution of profits, and is asking the court to stop OpenAI from engaging in the alleged unlawful conduct.
Why it matters
This lawsuit is the latest in a series of copyright fights that OpenAI has faced, with media outlets and authors also accusing the company of using their content to train AI models without permission. The outcome of this case could set a precedent for how AI companies can use copyrighted material to develop their products.
The details
Britannica claims that OpenAI has been 'free-riding on the encyclopedia's and dictionary's trusted, high-quality content' while 'cannibalizing traffic' to their websites. The company alleges that the ChatGPT chatbot has attributed AI hallucinations to Britannica, further damaging the encyclopedia's reputation. Britannica is seeking damages, restitution of profits, and a court order to stop OpenAI from engaging in the alleged unlawful conduct.
- Britannica filed the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Friday, March 15, 2026.
The players
Encyclopedia Britannica
The publisher of the world's longest-running English-language encyclopedia.
Merriam-Webster
A subsidiary of Encyclopedia Britannica and a leading dictionary publisher.
OpenAI
The company behind the ChatGPT AI chatbot, which Britannica alleges has been copying its content.
What they’re saying
“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”
— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident
What’s next
The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.
The takeaway
This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.
