Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster sue Perplexity AI for copyright and trademark infringement

The web research company Ai Perplexity is struck by another trial alleging copyright and the violation of brands, this time by Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webstier. Britannica, the age-old publisher who owns Merriam-Webster, continued Perplexity in front of the New York Federal Court on September 10.

In the trial, companies allege that Perplexity’s “response engine” stops their websites, steals their internet traffic and afflicts their copyright protected equipment. Britannica also alleges the violation of marks when the perplexity attaches the names of the two companies to hallucinated or incomplete content.

The word “plagiarism” illustrates the point of the trial. The Court document includes consecutive screenshots that show the result of perplexity is identical to the definition of Merriam-Webster.