On March 18, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit convened to hear oral arguments in the case of Raw Story Media, Inc. v. OpenAI, Inc., focusing on whether media organizations possess the legal standing to assert claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA prohibits the distribution of works from which copyright management information (CMI) has been removed or altered.
The plaintiffs, Raw Story Media, Inc. and AlterNet Media, Inc., allege that OpenAI utilized their copyrighted articles to train its language model, ChatGPT, without authorization and without retaining the original CMI. They contend that this practice violates the DMCA’s provisions against the removal or alteration of CMI.
In November 2024, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate a concrete injury resulting from OpenAI’s actions. The court found that the plaintiffs did not provide evidence showing that ChatGPT disseminated their copyrighted work without CMI, thereby failing to establish the necessary standing to pursue damages or injunctive relief under the DMCA. Judge McMahon noted that the plaintiffs’ claims were speculative and lacked allegations of actual adverse effects stemming from the removal of CMI.
Following the dismissal, the plaintiffs filed an appeal with the Second Circuit, challenging the lower court’s decision. The appellate court’s review centers on the critical issue of standing under the DMCA, specifically whether the plaintiffs can demonstrate a tangible injury linked to the alleged removal of CMI by OpenAI.
This case is part of a broader legal landscape where content creators are increasingly challenging AI developers over the use of copyrighted material in training data. Similar lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI, including a case by Ziff Davis, a major digital publisher, alleging that OpenAI’s language models were trained using its online publications without permission. In that case, the court allowed claims for contributory copyright infringement and removal of CMI to proceed, while dismissing other claims.
The outcome of the Raw Story Media appeal could have significant implications for the application of the DMCA in the context of AI training practices and the responsibilities of AI developers regarding copyrighted content. Legal professionals and media organizations are closely monitoring the proceedings, as the court’s decision may influence future litigation and the development of AI technologies.