Publishers vs AI: licensing deals and lawsuits both accelerate

Press Gazette's running round-up logged the week's two directions at once. OpenAI signed partnership deals with India's two largest newspaper groups, Times of India publisher Bennett, Coleman and Co (reported at around $5 million a year) and Indian Express Group (around $3 million a year), while a judge found it plausible that Perplexity conspired to bypass access controls to obtain Reddit material, rejecting a motion to dismiss. News Corp is suing Brave over alleged scraping, and more than 30 US local newspaper owners with a combined 400 titles have sued OpenAI and Microsoft. News Corp separately signed a deal worth up to $50 million per year for Meta to use its content. MediaPost reported USA Today filed a $250 million copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, and Reuters confirmed the filing on 8 October.

The crux

The same week produced new licensing revenue and new litigation, confirming that AI companies are now paying some publishers while fighting others, and the split is decided deal by deal.

Sell-side read

Publishers need both tracks running: a licensing conversation and a rights-enforcement position, because the market has stopped treating them as alternatives.

Watch

Whether the Perplexity ruling survives appeal, and whether OpenAI's India deals set a per-year benchmark other publishers use in pricing talks.