Britannica Sues OpenAI Over AI Training

Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster sued OpenAI in Manhattan federal court on March 14, 2026, over unauthorized use of their content.

The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of copying nearly 100,000 Britannica articles to train its GPT large language models without permission. This case adds to a growing list of copyright disputes between content creators and AI companies, raising urgent questions about where fair use ends and infringement begins

The Core Allegations

Britannica filed the complaint in Manhattan federal court on Friday, March 14, 2026. The lawsuit targets Microsoft-backed OpenAI directly.

The complaint states that OpenAI used Britannica's online articles, encyclopedia entries, and Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions to train ChatGPT. Britannica says this was done without permission or compensation.

Britannica also accuses OpenAI of producing "near-verbatim" copies of its content through ChatGPT responses. The company argues this diverts users who would otherwise visit its websites directly, cutting into its web traffic.

Trademark Claims

Beyond copyright, Britannica raises trademark infringement claims in the same lawsuit. It accuses OpenAI of implying it had permission to reproduce Britannica's material.