Open Markets Institute files amicus brief backing publishers against OpenAI and Microsoft

What happened

The Open Markets Institute filed an amicus brief on October 30, 2026, in support of the news publishers suing OpenAI and Microsoft in the consolidated copyright case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (In re: OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation). The brief urges the court to grant the publishers' motion for summary judgment and deny OpenAI and Microsoft's motion, rejecting their fair-use defense for the challenged conduct.

The argument

Open Markets argues OpenAI and Microsoft take copyrighted reporting without permission and use it to compete directly against the publishers that produced it, diverting the traffic, subscriptions, and advertising revenue that sustain journalism. It cites Microsoft's own acknowledgment that its AI content strategy has created a "doom loop" threatening the economic foundations of publishers and creators. The brief warns unchecked infringement could destroy the emerging market for AI content licensing: developers that pay publishers face higher costs than competitors that take work for free. It also challenges the Justice Department's position on AI content licensing, pointing to pay-per-use and pay-per-access deals already being negotiated.

Context

The filing landed on the October 30 amicus deadline set by Judge Sidney Stein in the consolidated case; reply briefs are due November 20, 2026. It is a legal argument, not a ruling. It is distinct from the other October 30 amicus filings already covered (Wikimedia Foundation, Human Consent Foundation coalition, AAP/STM/IBPA/CCC publishers, House Judiciary Democrats): Open Markets is a separate filer making a competition and licensing-market argument.