The newspapers accused the tech companies of misusing their content by unlawfully copying millions of articles to train their generative artificial-intelligence systems, such as Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT.

This lawsuit comes after similar ongoing lawsuits from the New York Times and other news outlets, including The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet.

Microsoft is a significant financial backer of OpenAI, having invested billions into the company.

OpenAI and Microsoft are being sued by MediaNews publications over the use of copyrighted content in training their generative AI systems.

OpenAI reportedly owes its success to the works of others, according to a lawyer for the newspapers.

The companies argue that they only need to pay for computers, chips, and employee salaries, but the newspapers claim they should also be compensated for the use of their copyrighted material.

The lawsuit alleges that the systems reproduce the newspapers' content "verbatim" when prompted.

Microsoft declined to comment on the complaint.

A group of newspapers, including the Denver Post, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, and Twin Cities Pioneer Press, have filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT for creating and distributing fake articles under their names.

The lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT produced articles that harmed the reputations of the newspapers, such as one suggesting smoking as a cure for asthma and another endorsing a recalled infant lounger linked to child deaths.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages and an injunction to prevent further infringement.