Established American media publishers Britannica and Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit in New York against artificial intelligence search engine Perplexity AI for copyright infringement and plagiarism. The companies’ lawsuit, filed in New York Federal Court, alleges that Perplexity has copied their content without permission and misappropriated their trademarks.

Perplexity AI in the spotlight due to copyright lawsuit

Screenshots presented in the lawsuit show that Perplexity’s AI-generated answers are almost identical to definitions in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The two publishers also claim that Perplexity presents incomplete or inaccurate information under their own names, misleading users.

Perplexity AI has faced similar accusations before. Major media groups such as Forbes, The New York Times, the BBC, and News Corp have accused Perplexity of unauthorizedly repurposing their original content and bypassing website blocks.

Some media outlets are pursuing a different strategy. Time and the Los Angeles Times have joined a partnership program that shares ad revenue with Perplexity. World History Encyclopedia launched a chatbot powered by Perplexity on September 8th.

This case has revived the copyright debate between AI companies and traditional publishers. What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.