Politics

New York Times lawsuit against Perplexity AI challenges AI copyright and trademark laws

Monday, 22 December 2025 11:07PM UTC

The New York Times has filed a federal lawsuit against Perplexity AI, alleging widespread copyright and trademark infringements, signalling a potential shift in AI liability and industry regulation.

The New York Times has launched a major federal suit against Perplexity AI in the Southern District of New York, accusing the artificial‑intelligence answer engine of large‑scale, systematic intellectual property violations that go beyond typical copyright claims. According to the complaint, filed this month, the paper alleges that Perplexity scraped millions of articles, multimedia and other content from nytimes.com using automated crawlers, then copied, distributed and displayed that material to power its generative products. ^[1]^[2]^[5]

The core of The Times' case frames the conduct as "massive, methodical, and unlawful" copyright infringement, with the complaint asserting that Perplexity's outputs are verbatim or strikingly similar to original Times journalism and therefore supplant users' need to visit the newspaper's site. The legal filing available via Courthouse News details allegations that the startup used the Times' stories, videos, podcasts and images both to train models and to generate the responses shown to users. TheWrap and TechCrunch report that The Times says it raised concerns with Perplexity repeatedly for nearly two years before filing suit. ^[1]^[4]^[3]^[5]

The lawsuit advances a novel legal theory by asserting trademark claims under the Lanham Act alongside copyright counts. According to the complaint, Perplexity's interface sometimes displays The New York Times' registered marks alongside AI‑generated text that the paper says is fabricated, partial or misleading, creating false attribution and, the Times alleges, diluting and tarnishing its brand. The complaint argues those practices risk associating errors or omissions with the newspaper's reputation for accuracy. Engadget and the original filing both emphasise that trademark dilution and misleading attribution are central to the Times' expanded theory of harm. ^[1]^[4]^[7]

The Times frames the alleged harm as both qualitative and economic. Industry coverage notes the paper claims Perplexity's use of its journalism undermines traffic, subscription incentives and advertising revenue by providing users with comprehensive answers that reduce clicks to original reporting. Axios has reported similar pushback from other news organisations, including a separate Chicago Tribune suit, suggesting a pattern of publishers seeking redress for perceived commercial displacement by answer engines. ^[1]^[2]^[6]

If the court accepts the Times' trademark theory, the case could expand the frontiers of intellectual property litigation against generative AI. Legal observers and the complaint itself argue that a ruling for the plaintiff could hold AI operators liable not only for unauthorised copying but also for the commercial consequences of attributing erroneous AI outputs to third‑party brands. TechCrunch and the court filing both note that such an outcome would force engineers and companies to rethink how sources and trademarks are identified and displayed in automated answers. ^[1]^[4]^[5]

The litigation comes amid a rising wave of publisher enforcement. Reporting shows the Chicago Tribune has filed a related copyright suit and other outlets are scrutinising AI firms that ingest newsroom content; industry coverage describes a growing coalition of legacy media pushing for clearer rules and compensation mechanisms. TheWrap and Engadget detail how publishers contend that repeated warnings to Perplexity went unheeded, a fact the Times highlights to support claims of wilful infringement. ^[3]^[7]^[6]

Practical consequences for AI developers are immediate. Commentators recommend tighter attribution controls, robust IP‑clearance procedures, filtration for famous trademarks and technical measures to prevent or flag hallucinations so that third‑party names are not used to lend credibility to unreliable outputs. The complaint itself urges courts to require injunctive relief and damages while urging operators to document compliance policies and trademark‑use procedures. Tech reporting stresses that firms will need both legal and engineering responses. ^[1]^[5]^[3]

The case will test how established doctrines of copyright and trademark law apply to automatically generated content and the automated use of third‑party marks. According to the filings and contemporaneous reporting, a successful claim by The New York Times could broaden liability for GenAI platforms and reshape industry practice; conversely, a defence victory could preserve broader latitude for automated indexing and model training. The legal fight is now joined in court, where judges will confront questions about attribution, consumer confusion and the commercial role of generative systems. ^[1]^[4]^[2]

##Reference Map:

^[1] (JD Supra) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7, Paragraph 8
^[2] (The Guardian) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 8
^[3] (TheWrap) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 7
^[4] (Courthouse News Service (complaint pdf)) - Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 8
^[5] (TechCrunch) - Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 7
^[6] (Axios) - Paragraph 4, Paragraph 6
^[7] (Engadget) - Paragraph 3, Paragraph 6

Source: Noah Wire Services

More on this

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-new-york-times-v-perplexity-ai-new-1126309/ - Please view link - unable to able to access data
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/05/new-york-times-perplexity-ai-lawsuit - The Guardian reports that The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI, alleging massive and unlawful copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims that Perplexity AI scraped millions of articles from the nytimes.com website using sophisticated bots, leading to the unauthorized copying and dissemination of the newspaper's content. The Times argues that this practice has caused significant damage to its economic model by providing users with comprehensive information that diminishes the need to read the original articles.
https://www.thewrap.com/new-york-times-perplexity-ai-lawsuit/ - TheWrap details The New York Times' lawsuit against Perplexity AI, accusing the AI startup of repeatedly violating the newspaper's copyright protections. The Times alleges that Perplexity's AI-powered search engine scraped its journalism to generate responses that are identical or substantially similar to its published stories. Despite repeated requests for nearly two years to cease these actions, Perplexity continued its practices, leading to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/new-york-times-perplexity-ai.pdf - The Courthouse News Service provides access to the legal document of The New York Times' lawsuit against Perplexity AI. The complaint outlines allegations of massive and unlawful copyright infringement, where Perplexity AI is accused of copying, distributing, and displaying millions of copyrighted Times stories, videos, podcasts, images, and other works to power its products and tools. The lawsuit also includes claims of trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, alleging that Perplexity's products generate fabricated content falsely attributed to The Times.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/05/the-new-york-times-is-suing-perplexity-for-copyright-infringement/ - TechCrunch reports on The New York Times' lawsuit against Perplexity AI, alleging that the AI startup unlawfully copied and distributed the newspaper's content without permission. The Times claims that Perplexity's AI-powered search engine scraped its journalism to generate responses that are identical or substantially similar to its published stories. Despite repeated requests for nearly two years to cease these actions, Perplexity continued its practices, leading to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/12/15/chicago-tribune-perplexity-ai-copyright-lawsuit-newspapers - Axios reports that the Chicago Tribune has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Perplexity AI, accusing the AI-powered answer engine of unlawfully distributing its original journalism. The newspaper argues that Perplexity’s use of its reporting undermines its print and web versions by diverting traffic and ad revenue. The lawsuit, filed in New York, follows a similar suit by The New York Times, as media outlets push back against AI's role in using their content without compensation.
https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-new-york-times-and-chicago-tribune-sue-perplexity-over-alleged-copyright-infringement-153656431.html/ - Engadget reports on The New York Times and Chicago Tribune suing Perplexity AI over alleged copyright infringement. The Times alleges that Perplexity's GenAI products generate outputs that are identical or substantially similar to its content, leading to unlawful copying and distribution. The lawsuit also accuses Perplexity of trademark violations for attributing fabricated or incomplete information to Times brands, causing damage to the newspaper's reputation.

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score: 10

Notes: The narrative is current, with the lawsuit filed on December 5, 2025. Multiple reputable outlets, including The Guardian ([theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/05/new-york-times-perplexity-ai-lawsuit?utm_source=openai)) and TechCrunch ([techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/05/the-new-york-times-is-suing-perplexity-for-copyright-infringement/?utm_source=openai)), have reported on this event, confirming its recent emergence.

Quotes check

Score: 10

Notes: Direct quotes from The New York Times spokesperson Graham James are consistent across sources, indicating original reporting. For example, James stated, "We will continue to work to hold companies accountable that refuse to recognize the value of our work." ([techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/05/the-new-york-times-is-suing-perplexity-for-copyright-infringement/?utm_source=openai))

Source reliability

Score: 10

Notes: The narrative originates from JD Supra, a reputable platform for legal insights, and is corroborated by multiple established news outlets, including The Guardian ([theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/05/new-york-times-perplexity-ai-lawsuit?utm_source=openai)) and TechCrunch ([techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/05/the-new-york-times-is-suing-perplexity-for-copyright-infringement/?utm_source=openai)), enhancing its credibility.

Plausability check

Score: 10

Notes: The claims are plausible and align with ongoing industry discussions about AI's impact on intellectual property. Similar lawsuits have been filed by other media organizations against AI companies, such as OpenAI and Microsoft ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/cc19ef2cf3f23343738e892b60d6d7a6?utm_source=openai)). The legal basis for the lawsuit is grounded in established copyright and trademark laws.

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH

Summary: The narrative is fresh, with original reporting and consistent quotes from reliable sources. The claims are plausible and supported by corroborative reporting from multiple reputable outlets.

AI ethics
Intellectual property
Legal dispute