Delhi HC seeks OpenAI response in ANI copyright appeal

ANI's appeal challenges a July 24 order by Justice Amit Bansal, which declined to restrain OpenAI from using the news agency's copyrighted material to train its AI models

by e4m Staff
Published: Sep 15, 2026 4:17 PM | 2 min read

The Delhi High Court has requested a response from OpenAI regarding an appeal by news agency ANI, challenging a ruling that permits the use of copyrighted material for training large language models under the fair-dealing exception in Indian copyright law.
A Division Bench declined to grant ANI immediate relief and scheduled the next hearing for December 8, following an earlier ruling by Justice Amit Bansal that allowed OpenAI to use ANI's copyrighted material for training its AI models.
The July 24 ruling determined that OpenAI's use of ANI's works qualified as "private or personal use, including research" under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957, and ANI failed to prove substantial reproduction of its works by ChatGPT.
The case, initiated by ANI in 2024, is significant for India's legal landscape regarding generative AI and copyright, with implications for the publishing industry, as the Digital News Publishers Association has intervened in the proceedings.

The Delhi High Court has sought a response from OpenAI on an appeal filed by news agency ANI challenging an earlier ruling that held the use of copyrighted material for training large language models (LLMs) could fall within the fair-dealing exception under Indian copyright law.

A Division Bench of Justices Avneesh Jhingan and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on Tuesday declined to grant ANI immediate interim relief, indicating that it would not pass an order without first hearing OpenAI. The matter is scheduled to be heard next on December 8.

ANI's appeal challenges a July 24 order by Justice Amit Bansal, which declined to restrain OpenAI from using the news agency's copyrighted material to train its AI models.

The single-judge ruling had held, at the prima facie stage, that OpenAI's storage and use of ANI's works for training its LLMs qualified as "private or personal use, including research" under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957, and therefore fell within the fair-dealing exception. The court also found that ANI had not established that ChatGPT substantially reproduced or "regurgitated" its copyrighted works as a consequence of training.

ANI has challenged that interpretation, arguing that the ruling expands the scope of fair dealing for commercial purposes beyond what is contemplated by Indian copyright law. The news agency has maintained that publicly available content does not automatically give OpenAI the right to copy, store and commercially exploit its copyrighted works.

The case, filed by ANI in 2024, is among India's most consequential legal battles over generative AI and copyright. ANI was the first Indian media organisation to sue OpenAI over the alleged unauthorised use of copyrighted news content for AI training.

The proceedings are also being closely watched by India's publishing industry, with the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), whose members include several of the country's largest news publishers, having intervened in the case.

The outcome could help establish how India's existing copyright framework applies to the use of publicly accessible copyrighted material for training commercial AI models.