A new lawsuit has been filed against the startup Perplexity, alleging that the company is not only violating copyright law, but also breaking trademark law. The lawsuit, brought by Dow Jones and the New York Post, both owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, was filed in the US Southern District of New York. This is not the first time Perplexity has faced legal action from news publishers, as earlier this month, The New York Times sent the company a cease-and-desist letter for using their content without permission. Forbes and WIRED, both owned by Condé Nast, also sent cease-and-desist letters to Perplexity for plagiarizing their stories.
The lawsuit cites a WIRED investigation from this summer, which revealed how Perplexity was inaccurately summarizing WIRED stories and even fabricating false information. The WSJ reported that Perplexity is currently seeking to raise $500 million in its next funding round, at an $8 billion valuation.
Dow Jones and the New York Post provide examples of Perplexity “hallucinating” fake sections of news stories, which is when generative models produce false or fabricated material and present it as fact. The lawsuit claims that this trademark dilution potentially confuses readers and damages the value of the publishers’ trademarks.
In a statement, News Corp’s chief executive Robert Thomson compared Perplexity unfavorably to OpenAI, stating that they would pursue any AI company that abuses intellectual property with “vigor and rigor.” The statement also emphasizes the importance of integrity and creativity in the use of Artificial Intelligence. Perplexity has not yet responded to requests for comment.
