ZEEMEDIA

Adds details from filing, context in paragraphs 12-20

By Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi and Praveen Paramasivam

NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets like the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, have mounted a legal challenge against OpenAI alleging it improperly used copyright content, legal papers show.

The media outlets including Adani's NDTV NDTV.NS and Ambani's Network18 NEFI.NS have told a New Delhi court they want to join an ongoing lawsuit against the ChatGPT creator, as they are worried their news websites are being scraped to store and reproduce their work to users of the powerful AI tool.

Reuters is first to report the case filing by the digital news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also now joined in.

The 135-page case filing in the New Delhi court, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets.

It refers to OpenAI's "wilful scraping ... and adaptation of content".

Courts across the world are hearing claims by authors, news outlets and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyright work to train AI services and who are seeking to have content used to train the chatbot deleted.

The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adani's NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, Zee News, India Today Group and the Hindu. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too.

The Times of India is not taking part in the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA.

OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment on the new allegations. It has repeatedly denied such allegations, saying its AI systems make fair use of publicly available data.

None of the Indian media companies immediately responded to Reuters request for comment.

LANDMARK INDIA CASE

The new intervention by Indian outlets will add firepower to ANI's lawsuit against the Microsoft-backed OpenAI, which is the most high-profile legal proceeding in the nation on this subject.

A hearing in ANI's lawsuit against OpenAI is scheduled for Tuesday.

Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in comments reported by Reuters last week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no jurisdiction to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad.

Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in ANI's business practices or operations.

In recent months, OpenAI has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde and Spain's Prisa Media to display content.

The Indian publishers in their new filing argue OpenAI has entered into partnership agreements with media outlets abroad, but has not entered into similar deals in India, hurting the media companies.

Such conduct by OpenAI "in India betrays an inexplicable defiance of the law," the Indian media outlets' filing said.

The publishers also said OpenAI was set to become a profit-driven business benefiting from the creative works of the media industry. This would result in a "weakened press" and would not be in the best interests of a vibrant democracy, their filing said.

OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year.

It made its first India hire last year when it tapped a former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people, where millions of new users are going online, thanks to cheap mobile data prices.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Sonali Paul)

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Jan 13 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• TO RAISE FUNDS WORTH UPTO 4 BILLION RUPEES

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Jan 8 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• ZEE MEDIA CORPORATION LTD - TO CONSIDER FUNDRAISING THROUGH EQUITY OR CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES

Source text: ID:nBSE29D9HJ

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Oct 25 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL NET LOSS 498.6 MILLION RUPEES

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 1.31 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4TtKhS

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Oct 23 (Reuters) - India's New Delhi Television (NDTV) NDTV.NS posted its fourth-straight quarterly loss on Wednesday, as the news broadcaster's expenses surged.

The company, 64.7% of which is owned by ports-to-energy conglomerate Adani Group, reported a loss of 527.7 million rupees ($6.28 million) for the July-September quarter, compared to a profit of 59.1 million rupees in the year-ago period.

NDTV's total expenses surged 76% on the back of a jump in operating as well as production and marketing costs, as it continued to invest in newly launched TV channels and infrastructure.

The company, which runs news channels, said its revenue from operations rose 16.5% to 1.11 billion rupees in the latest quarter, attributing it to enhanced content strategy, an expanding portfolio of intellectual properties, and strategic digital initiatives.

Indian consumer good makers, who typically spend the most on advertising on television, have reined in their expenses as they grapple with muted demand for their products amid rising living costs.

That has weighed on advertising-dependent media companies.

In the past couple of weeks, Zee Enterprises ZEE.NS, which runs its eponymous TV serial and entertainment channels, posted a decline in ad revenue. Reliance group-controlled Network18 Media NEFI.NS, which owns both news and entertainment channels, said its TV news ad revenue was soft during the quarter.

NDTV did not disclose its ad revenue for the quarter.

The company's shares dropped after the results, closing 0.8% lower.

Other rivals TV Today Network TVTO.NS and Zee Media Corporation ZEEN.NS are expected to post results later this month.

($1 = 84.0650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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Oct 10 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• UNIT ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT FOR MAKING INVESTMENT IN FLUTRR DIGIMATE

• UNIT TO INVEST 37.5 MILLION RUPEES IN FLUTRR

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Sept 27 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• APPROVES FUND RAISE OF 2 BILLION RUPEES

• FUND RAISE VIA ISSUE OF WARRANTS

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** Shares of Zee Media Corp Ltd ZEEN.NS up 15.2% at 16.1 rupees, their biggest jump since August 2023

** Stock at its highest since Feb. 20, 2024

** News channel operator ZEEN to consider fundraise on Sept. 27, including via qualified institutional placement of shares

** Over 14 mln shares traded, 3.1x 30-day avg volume

** Stock turns YTD positive, now up 5.8% this year vs media stocks' .NIFTYMED 12.7% fall

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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Sept 24 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• ZEE MEDIA CORPORATION LTD - TO CONSIDER RAISING OF FUNDS

• ZEE MEDIA CORPORATION - TO CONSIDER FUNDS RAISE VIA QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONS PLACEMENT, OTHER MODES

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Aug 7 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL NET LOSS 103.8 MILLION RUPEES

• JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 1.76 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE8BdmqJ

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July 3 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS APPROVED INCORPORATION OF UNIT PINEWS DIGITAL

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE24SBbn

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June 26 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• GRANTED ITS APPROVAL FOR EXPLORING AVAILABLE OPTIONS FOR RAISING OF FUNDS UPTO 2 BILLION RUPEES

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June 21 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• TO CONSIDER RAISING OF FUNDS

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4DyDC5

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June 13 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• ZEE MEDIA CORPORATION LTD - APPROVED INCORPORATION OF UNIT OF COMPANY

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEJ9PtF

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April 12 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• UNIT ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT FOR INVESTMENT OF UPTO 87.6 MILLION RUPEES IN VYOMEEN MEDIA

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE1L8ntc

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March 29 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• ZEE MEDIA CORPORATION LTD - APPROVED INCORPORATION/ESTABLISHING OF A UNIT IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSEc7h9Mw

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Oct 31 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL NET LOSS 307 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS LOSS 120.8 MILLION RUPEES

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 1.52 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 1.95 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE5JP8sl

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Adds details from SEBI order, context

By Jayshree P Upadhyay

Aug 14 (Reuters) - India's market regulator on Monday barred Punit Goenka from the boards of four Zee Group companies, including Zee Entertainment Ltd, and questioned his proposed role in the planned merger between ZEEL and the Indian unit of Japan's Sony Group.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also said in the order on its website that former Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra and Goenka cannot be directors of any entity formed through the merger or amalgamation of any of the four.

Goenka is ZEEL Chief Executive, but due to an earlier SEBI order an interim committee has taken on day-to-day management of the company, which is among India's first privately-owned television networks.

Zee Group announced a merger of ZEEL with Sony's Indian business in 2021, but ran into delays due to an interim SEBI order barring Goenka from directorships of any listed company.

A spokesperson for Zee Group, Chandra and Goenka declined to comment on SEBI's final order, which applies to Zee Media Corporation, Zee Media Corp and Zee Aakash News as well as ZEEL.

India's National Company Law Tribunal last week cleared the long-delayed deal to create a $10 billion company.

However, SEBI said that post the planned merger, Goenka would be appointed as managing director and would be entrusted with substantial powers to manage affairs of the company.

"That very role in ZEEL is under question," said SEBI, adding that until the final outcome of an investigation into alleged fund diversion "it would be appropriate that he is not part of the management of ZEEL or any 'corporate avatar' of it".

SEBI said it would complete its inquiry in eight months.

Madhabi Puri Buch, SEBI's chairperson, said that Goenka's conduct as Managing Director and Chief Executive of ZEEL was found to be in violation of norms to prevent fraud.

"His actions were in direct conflict with the interests of 96% public shareholders of ZEEL, necessitating imposition of temporary restraint on him," Buch said.

Goenka, who has denied the allegations, and Chandra both challenged SEBI's earlier ban.

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay; Editing by David Evans and Alexander Smith)

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June 28 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• CO WITHDREW ITS EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FILED WITH THE CORPORATE INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROFESSIONAL

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May 2 (Reuters) - Zee Media Corporation Ltd ZEEN.NS:

• ZEE MEDIA CORPORATION LTD - APPOINTED ABHAY OJHA AS CEO

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE6jmRqG

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