CNN sues Perplexity AI over use of more than 17,000 materials without permission

American broadcaster CNN filed a lawsuit against Perplexity AI in the federal court of New York, accusing the AI-based search service developer of copyright and trademark infringement due to unauthorized use of CNN's journalistic materials.

In the complaint filed on May 28, CNN claims that Perplexity illegally copied, stored, and distributed its content to operate a range of AI products, including a consumer chatbot, corporate services, API, and the Comet browser.

This lawsuit adds to the list of legal disputes involving Perplexity. The company is also defending itself against copyright and trademark claims filed by Dow Jones and NYP Holdings, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, The New York Times Company, and Chicago Tribune Company.

CNN is seeking damages, the amount of which has not been disclosed, a court injunction to stop further use of the content, and a jury trial.

Copyright infringement allegations

At the core of the lawsuit is a two-step copyright infringement scheme as described by CNN.

First, the company alleges that Perplexity illegally scanned, collected, copied, and stored CNN materials to create its own search index and response generation systems using external sources (Retrieval-Augmented Generation, RAG).

Second, according to CNN, these materials are reproduced in the responses generated by Perplexity's AI products.

The complaint states that Perplexity "illegally copied more than 17,000 CNN materials, including articles, videos, images, and other works to support the operation of its products and services."

CNN also claims that the company's generative AI products produce responses that are "identical or substantially similar" to the broadcaster's copyrighted materials. According to the plaintiff, such responses are often "verbatim or nearly verbatim reproductions, paraphrases, or abridged versions of the original content."

CNN accuses Perplexity of circumventing technical restrictions

The broadcaster also stated that Perplexity bypassed publisher-imposed technical restrictions.

The complaint notes that the company's web crawlers ignored or circumvented protective mechanisms, including robots.txt files designed to restrict automated access to content.

CNN emphasizes that it blocked PerplexityBot's access to its materials and never granted the company permission to use journalistic content for generative AI purposes.

Failed partnership attempt

Documents also reveal that in 2025 the parties attempted to reach a commercial agreement.

CNN and Perplexity negotiated a "CNN – Perplexity Comet Plus Partnership" intended to take effect on October 1, 2025. The agreement would have provided access to CNN's paid content in exchange for compensation.

However, according to CNN, the parties failed to agree on several issues, including restrictions on the use of CNN content in AI-generated responses. As a result, negotiations were terminated on November 24, 2025.

On December 10, 2025, CNN sent a letter demanding that the company cease the infringement. The broadcaster stressed that it had not granted permission to use its content or trademarks in Perplexity's services.

The plaintiff claims the company did not respond to the letter and continued to use CNN materials without authorization.

Loss of revenue and trademark claims

CNN asserts that Perplexity's actions divert visitors from publisher websites, reducing subscription, advertising, and content licensing revenues.

The broadcaster believes that users receiving detailed AI-generated summaries of materials have "little reason to visit the original source or pay for access to an article they just read in an abridged form."

In addition to copyright infringement, CNN accuses Perplexity of violating trademark rights under the Lanham Act.

Specifically, the company claims that Perplexity creates a false impression of a partnership between the parties and uses the CNN brand in a way that may mislead users.

The complaint states that Perplexity's products generated false information about access to premium CNN content through paid subscriptions, although no such agreement exists between the parties.

CNN also alleges that Perplexity displays altered, incomplete, or inaccurate versions of CNN materials alongside the broadcaster's brand without informing users of the changes or omissions.

The lawsuit also addresses so-called AI "hallucinations." According to CNN, Perplexity creates and disseminates content mistakenly associated with the broadcaster, potentially misleading users about the source and reliability of information.

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