An article summarized by Variety:
CNN filed a lawsuit against AI startup Perplexity, accusing it of copyright and trademark infringement for allegedly copying and distributing CNN content without permission. Filed in federal court in New York, the lawsuit claims Perplexity scraped more than 17,000 CNN articles, photos, videos, and other materials to train and power its AI products. The case marks CNN’s first legal action against an AI company and is believed to be the first such lawsuit brought by a television news network.
CNN argues that while it supports AI innovation, AI companies must compensate publishers for using costly, human-produced journalism. According to the complaint, CNN and Perplexity held licensing discussions last year but failed to reach an agreement over how the company would use CNN content. After talks collapsed, CNN blocked Perplexity’s scraping tools but alleges the company continued using its material. Perplexity responded by defending its practices, saying, “You can’t copyright facts.”
The lawsuit also accuses Perplexity of trademark misuse, claiming the company falsely implied an ongoing relationship with CNN by promoting premium access to CNN content through its “Comet Plus” service. CNN says this could mislead consumers into believing the network endorses or partners with Perplexity. The network is seeking financial damages and a court order preventing Perplexity from using its content, joining a growing legal battle between media organizations and AI firms over the use of copyrighted journalism in AI systems.
