The United States Justice Department has filed a statement urging a Manhattan federal court to rule that OpenAI did not violate copyright law when it used articles from The New York Times and other publishers to develop artificial intelligence systems. The intervention marks the first occasion the department has publicly addressed the legal disputes surrounding AI companies’ use of copyrighted material, which have spurred multiple lawsuits, including one initiated by The New York Times.

In its filing, submitted late Tuesday, the Justice Department argued that advancing artificial intelligence is crucial to national security and economic prosperity. It maintained that the process of training AI systems sufficiently transforms the original copyrighted works into new content, falling within the bounds of copyright law. The department emphasized that the societal and economic benefits of AI development outweigh any potential competitive harms faced by content creators. Stanley Woodward Jr., associate attorney general, characterized the submission as a “historic statement of interest” and referenced former President Donald Trump’s view that AI leadership is vital for national security and economic mobility.

The New York Times has contested these claims, asserting that OpenAI and Microsoft illegally used its journalistic content to train AI models like ChatGPT without authorization. The paper’s spokesman, Graham James, criticized the Justice Department for siding with major AI companies, expressing concern that such a stance could undermine the sustainability of human-created content essential both to society and the AI industry. The Times filed its lawsuit in late 2023, joined by other publishers whose cases have since been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied the allegations, arguing that their AI training practices involve transformative use that complies with copyright law.

The controversy is part of a broader wave of legal challenges targeting AI companies over claims of copyright infringement. Recently, a group of musicians filed suit against Sungo, an AI startup accused of using artists’ voices and stylistic elements without permission. Separately, the AI firm Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors and publishers after a court ruled it had unlawfully downloaded and stored millions of copyrighted books.

The Trump administration’s Justice Department has consistently taken a pro-AI industry stance, expressing skepticism toward regulatory efforts at both state and federal levels. It has highlighted the risks of losing the global AI race to foreign competitors if U.S. companies face restrictive legal requirements. The administration has also reportedly considered acquiring stakes in AI companies to support the sector’s growth. Representatives for OpenAI and Microsoft declined to comment on the Justice Department’s filing. The court has set a deadline for both sides to submit dispositive motions by this Friday.