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Encyclopaedia Britannica v OpenAI Inc

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Case Information
Case name Encyclopaedia Britannica v. OpenAI Inc[1]
Court U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York[1]
Docket 1:26-cv-02097[1]
Filed March 13, 2026[1]
Judge(s) Sidney H. Stein; Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang designated for referred matters (March 17, 2026)[2]
Plaintiffs Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.; Merriam-Webster, Inc.[1]
Defendants OpenAI, Inc. and OpenAI entities named in the complaint[1]
Case type Civil action[1]
Claims / issues Copyright infringement and Lanham Act claims concerning training, outputs and attribution[1]
Status April 21, 2026: proceedings and deadlines stayed pending summary-judgment rulings in the other active MDL cases. Later developments have not been verified.[2][1]

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Inc. v. OpenAI, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., filed March 13, 2026) is a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit brought by the publishers of Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster dictionary against OpenAI, alleging that OpenAI copied nearly 100,000 Britannica articles and Merriam-Webster dictionary entries (definitions, etymologies, and usage examples) without authorization to train ChatGPT.[3][4][5]


Claims

The plaintiffs allege:[3][4]

  • Copyright infringement: OpenAI scraped nearly 100,000 Britannica articles and Merriam-Webster dictionary entries without authorization, license, payment, or notification to train ChatGPT. The scale and commercial nature of the copying challenge any fair use defense.
  • Trademark dilution: ChatGPT outputs mimic the style and language of Britannica and Merriam-Webster, potentially misleading users about the source and harming the brands' reputations for accuracy and reliability.

Plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary damages and a court order to block the alleged conduct.[4]

Significance

This case joins over 90 active copyright suits against U.S. AI companies, most filed in the S.D.N.Y. It is notable because it involves reference works (encyclopedia and dictionary content) rather than creative works like books, music, or video, testing whether AI training on factual reference materials constitutes fair use. The trademark dilution claim is also novel in the AI copyright context.[5]

The case also raises questions about hallucinations attributed to authoritative sources: the complaint alleges that ChatGPT generates content falsely attributed to Britannica and Merriam-Webster, potentially damaging the brands' reputation for accuracy.[5]

Procedural History

  • March 13, 2026: Complaint filed in S.D.N.Y.[3]
  • March 17, 2026: assigned to Judge Sidney H. Stein, with Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang designated for referred matters.[2]
  • April 21, 2026: the court stayed proceedings and deadlines pending summary-judgment rulings in other active MDL cases. The parties must submit a joint status report within 30 days after those rulings; any party may seek to lift the stay for good cause.[2]

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Court filing / case record, reviewed September 7, 2026
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Britannica v. OpenAI, docket: March 17 assignments and April 21, 2026 stay order, ECF 29
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Courthouse News: Complaint PDF, Encyclopaedia Britannica v. OpenAI, March 13, 2026
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Washington Times, "Encyclopaedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster Sue OpenAI for Massive Copyright Infringement," March 17, 2026
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 AI Automation Global, "Britannica & Merriam-Webster Sue OpenAI for Copyright Infringement," March 2026
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