### News Corp Sues AI Startup Perplexity Over Copyright Infringement Allegations

News Corp's Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, has filed a lawsuit against Perplexity, a budding AI startup, accusing it of copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 21, claims that Perplexity engages in unauthorized copying of the publishers' copyrighted content.

Perplexity, which bills itself as an "AI-powered Swiss Army Knife for information discovery and curiosity," allows users to access news and information without needing to visit the original publishers' websites. According to the complaint, this practice diverts readers and revenue away from the original content creators.

The conflict began in July 2024 when Dow Jones and the New York Post sent a letter to Perplexity, notifying the startup of potential legal issues surrounding its usage of copyrighted content and suggesting discussions about a licensing agreement. However, Perplexity did not respond to the letter, prompting the lawsuit.

In a parallel move, the New York Times recently issued a cease-and-desist notice to Perplexity for similar reasons, asserting that the AI platform infringes its copyrights. The Times has also taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft on related grounds.

Amid these legal challenges, Perplexity continues to seek substantial financial backing, with plans to raise $500 million in new funding, which would more than double its valuation to approximately $8 billion. The startup’s current investor roster includes notable names such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, and chip maker Nvidia.

The core of the lawsuit seeks to prevent Perplexity from unlawfully copying the plaintiffs' content and demands statutory damages, potentially reaching up to $150,000 per infringement, alongside actual damages and profits derived from the unauthorized usage of the copyrighted material.

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson issued a pointed statement condemning Perplexity's practices, accusing the startup of abusing intellectual property in a way that ultimately harms journalists, writers, and publishers. Thomson highlighted the recent agreement with OpenAI, under which the AI company will pay News Corp over $250 million in licensing fees over five years, as an example of a more ethical approach to using AI in news dissemination.

Thomson emphasized that while News Corp prefers to form partnerships rather than litigate, it is prepared to rigorously defend its intellectual property to protect the interests of its journalists and writers.