Dutch journalist union sees eventual AI copyright litigation in the Netherlands

Dutch journalists' union NVJ believes it is a good thing that The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. According to The New York Times, OpenAI has used millions of articles to train chatbots without permission.

The American media group wants the defendants to be held responsible for "billions of dollars in damages" resulting from the "illegal copying and use of The Times' uniquely valuable work."

"It is quite right that they do this. We think that similar cases will certainly follow in the Netherlands or in Europe," said NVJ General Secretary Thomas Bruning. "We endorse what The New York Times is doing. It is very good that these types of companies realize that they are infringing," Bruning continued.

Current regulations are lagging behind new developments, he added. "The rules are not yet ready for these types of new forms of use. That is why it is important that a judge gives an opinion on this," said the NVJ leader.

According to Bruning, collective agreements must be made between media groups and AI companies about the lawful use of journalists' work.