WHAT THE...USA Today and 19 Newspapers Sue OpenAI Seeking More Than $250 Million, INCLUDING THE INDYSTAR?

State	Newspaper	City
Indiana	Indianapolis Star (IndyStar)	Indianapolis
Kentucky	The Courier Journal	Louisville
Ohio	The Cincinnati Enquirer	Cincinnati
Ohio	The Columbus Dispatch	Columbus
Michigan	Detroit Free Press	Detroit
Michigan	The Detroit News	Detroit

October 12, 2026 — The lawsuit is newly filed and remains in its preliminary stages.

USA Today Co., formerly Gannett, and 13 affiliated companies filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI on October 8, 2026.

WHAT A FARCE AND FRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT. HOW MANY TIMES HAS USA TODAY AND ITS 19 NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED COMMENTS AND MATERIAL WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE SOURCE OR TARGET?

HERE ARE LOCAL RAGS SEEKING TO GET A INJECTION OF CASH....ARE THEY FAILING?

State	Newspaper	City
Indiana	Indianapolis Star (IndyStar)	Indianapolis
Kentucky	The Courier Journal	Louisville
Ohio	The Cincinnati Enquirer	Cincinnati
Ohio	The Columbus Dispatch	Columbus
Michigan	Detroit Free Press	Detroit
Michigan	The Detroit News	Detroit

The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI used hundreds of thousands of copyrighted newspaper articles without authorization to train its artificial intelligence models, including ChatGPT. The publications involved include the Louisville Courier Journal, Indianapolis Star, Detroit Free Press and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reuters

Federal Court Information

Item	Details
Case	USA Today Co., Inc. et al. v. OpenAI Foundation et al.
Case number	1:26-cv-08892
Court	U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
Filing date	October 8, 2026
Plaintiffs	USA Today Co. and 13 affiliated companies
Defendants	Seven OpenAI entities
Damages sought	More than $250 million
Jury trial	Requested
Current status	Newly filed; no merits ruling verified

The publicly accessible docket shows that the plaintiffs also requested that the case be treated as related to existing consolidated litigation involving OpenAI and copyright infringement. Justia Dockets

What the Newspapers Allege

The publishers make three central arguments:

1. Unauthorized copying: OpenAI allegedly incorporated copyrighted journalism into datasets used to train its models without permission or payment.

2. Loss of readership and revenue: AI-generated summaries allegedly reduce the incentive for readers to visit newspaper websites, potentially affecting advertising and subscriptions.

3. Removal of copyright information: The complaint alleges that certain data-processing methods stripped identifying information from copyrighted articles.

The publishers are seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief. They have also requested the destruction of certain models and datasets containing allegedly infringing material. These are allegations and requested remedies, not judicial findings. Subscription Insider

What Happens Next?

As of October 12, I could not verify a substantive court ruling or an answer filed by OpenAI. The publicly indexed docket I located was last retrieved October 8, so it may not reflect every subsequent filing.

OpenAI has argued in other copyright disputes that training AI systems on publicly available material can constitute fair use under federal copyright law. Whether that defense succeeds here remains unresolved.

For Hoosier Enquirer, there is an important Indiana angle: The Indianapolis Star is among the publications whose reporting is at issue. The complaint reportedly includes an example involving ChatGPT's summary of an Indianapolis Star investigation concerning an FBI raid. Subscription Insider

The case could have significant consequences for independent publishers, including Hoosier Enquirer, because it raises questions about compensation, attribution and the permissible use of copyrighted journalism by AI companies.

Court docket: USA Today Co. v. OpenAI — Case No. 1:26-cv-08892

Original reporting: Louisville Public Media — October 9, 2026

THIS CASE NEEDS TO BE SUMMARILY DISMISSED AND LEGAL FEES ASSESSED AGAINST THE PLAINTIFFS.