Perplexity Asks Judge to Ax User Infringement Claim in AI Suit

Perplexity AI Inc. urged a federal judge to trim the copyright lawsuit filed by Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. and Merriam-Webster Inc., arguing their outputs claim is based on users’ “atypical usage” and that they haven’t stated a direct claim against Perplexity itself.

Perplexity shouldn’t face a copyright claim over its search engine’s outputs because black letter law—including a Second Circuit decision— says the end user, not the provider, engages in “volitional conduct” when they extract copyrighted material using certain technology, the company said in a memorandum of law supporting its motion to dismiss filed Monday in the US District Court for ...