Perplexity AI Reportedly Accused in Federal Lawsuit of Purported Copyright Infringement and False Attribution of Chicago Tribune Content

The Chicago Tribune filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in New York federal court against Perplexity AI, a California-based startup founded in 2022. Perplexity operates an AI-driven search engine and chatbot that bills itself as the 'world's first answer engine.' The lawsuit alleges that Perplexity has unlawfully copied millions of copyrighted Chicago Tribune stories, videos, images, and other works to power its products. The AI system generates outputs that are identical or substantially similar to Tribune content, often reproducing large chunks of original reporting without proper attribution. This diverts traffic away from the Tribune's website, threatening its business model based on paid subscriptions and advertising revenue. Perplexity achieved a $20 billion valuation and processes more than 100 million generative search results weekly. The system is also prone to 'hallucinations,' creating inaccurate results falsely attributed to the Tribune, potentially damaging the newspaper's reputation. Until recently, Perplexity used the phrase 'skip the links' as a sales pitch. The lawsuit seeks undisclosed damages and a permanent injunction, alleging three counts of copyright infringement, one count of false designation and trademark dilution, and one count of trademark infringement.