News Stein Stay Britannica OpenAI 2026

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April 21, 2026 — Judge Stein Grants Stay, Shelving Encyclopaedia Britannica and Gracenote Copyright Suits Against OpenAI

On April 21, 2026, Judge Stein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a joint stipulation by the parties to stay the copyright infringement lawsuits filed by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. and Gracenote against OpenAI, effectively putting both cases on the shelf for the time being.<ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld-stein">ChatGPT is Eating the World, "Judge Stein grants stay, putting on shelf copyright suits filed by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Merriam Dictionary, Gracenote v. OpenAI," April 2026</ref>

Both cases were filed late in the proceedings of the multidistrict litigation (MDL) against OpenAI, while the rest of the MDL litigation is nearing the end of discovery. The joint stipulation reflects the parties agreement that these late-filed cases should be held in abeyance rather than proceeding on an accelerated timeline that would be out of step with the broader MDL schedule.<ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld-stein" />

Background

Encyclopaedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster filed their copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI on March 13, 2026, alleging that ChatGPT was trained on Britannica reference content and Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions without authorization. Gracenote filed a separate suit in the same MDL proceeding.<ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld-stein" />

Significance

The stays mean that these cases will not proceed to discovery or trial alongside the main body of MDL litigation against OpenAI, which is nearing the end of its discovery phase. The plaintiffs retain the ability to request that the stays be lifted, but for now the claims remain in legal limbo, reducing the number of active copyright cases against OpenAI in the near term.<ref name="chatgptiseatingtheworld-stein" />

See Also

References

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