- Yomiuri Shimbun files ¥2.17bn lawsuit against Perplexity copied about 120,000 articles to power chat answers
- The newspaper alleges the AI start-up copied about 120,000 articles to power chat answers
- Case will probe 2018 Copyright Act exception for machine learning
Japan’s largest newspaper is suing Perplexity, accusing the AI search startup of copying more than 119,000 articles to train and power its chatbot. Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings said it filed the claim on August 7 in Tokyo District Court, seeking about ¥2.17bn ($15m) in damages and an injunction to stop Perplexity from reproducing or distributing its content.
The suit, brought by three Yomiuri corporate entities in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, alleges that Perplexity servers accessed the paper’s site between February and June to harvest articles later used in responses to user queries. The company argues this infringes reproduction and public-transmission rights under Japanese copyright law.
Jiji Press, via Nippon.com, reported the paper is also concerned that “zero-click” answers reduce site visits and threaten the business model that supports its journalism.
Under a 2018 amendment to Japan’s Copyright Act, reproductions for machine learning and data analysis can be made without prior authorisation, but only if they do not “unreasonably prejudice” rights holders. Legal analysts say the Yomiuri case will be an early test of how far that exception extends.
The action is also tied to web-security claims. Cloudflare has alleged that Perplexity used undeclared crawlers which masked their identity and evaded robots.txt and firewall rules. The company said it removed Perplexity from its verified bot list and updated security rules, with its findings likely to feature in court if Yomiuri pursues that argument.
Perplexity has grown rapidly in the AI search market, with Bloomberg reporting its valuation reached about $9bn in late 2024. It has millions of users and runs subscription and revenue-sharing programmes with publishers.
The lawsuit is the first brought by a major Japanese publisher against an AI company. Its outcome could influence how the 2018 copyright exceptions are interpreted, and whether courts demand clearer consent or compensation mechanisms for large-scale crawling that damages news organisations’ commercial interests.
Source: Noah Wire Services
- https://www.svaboda.org/a/33501853.html – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/08/japans-largest-newspaper-yomiuri-shimbun-sues-perplexity-for-copyright-violations/ – This Nieman Journalism Lab article reports that the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper by circulation, sued Perplexity in Tokyo District Court on August 7, alleging unauthorised use of 119,467 online articles between February and June to generate AI responses. The piece explains the plaintiffs seek roughly $14.78 million (about ¥2.17 billion) in damages and an injunction to stop reproduction and public transmission of Yomiuri content. It outlines legal arguments citing Japan’s copyright law, including reproduction and transmission rights, and notes the 2018 amendment permitting certain AI training uses while reserving protection against unreasonable prejudice to rights‑holders. Perplexity’s response is summarised.
- https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2025080701107/yomiuri-shimbun-sues-u-s-ai-firm-for-copyright-infringement.html – This Nippon.com article, based on Jiji Press reporting, details the Yomiuri Shimbun’s lawsuit filed on August 7 in Tokyo District Court against U.S. AI company Perplexity. It states that the newspaper alleges unauthorised access to approximately 119,467 articles between February and June and seeks about ¥2.168bn (roughly $14.7–$15 million) in damages. The report notes the suit was brought by three Yomiuri legal entities in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka and requests a ban on Perplexity’s use of its articles. It highlights concerns about “zero‑click” searches reducing site traffic and the potential harm to journalism’s commercial model and calls for legal clarity.
- https://blog.cloudflare.com/perplexity-is-using-stealth-undeclared-crawlers-to-evade-website-no-crawl-directives/ – Cloudflare’s blog post documents observed ‘stealth’ crawling behaviour from Perplexity, describing how declared crawlers were supplemented by undeclared bots that changed User‑Agent strings and rotated IP addresses and autonomous system numbers to evade robots.txt rules and web application firewall blocks. The post explains tests where Perplexity’s crawler first used a declared user agent, then, when blocked, repeatedly impersonated a generic Chrome on macOS user agent to continue fetching content. Cloudflare says it de‑listed Perplexity as a verified bot, updated managed rules to block the stealth crawler, and advises site owners how to protect themselves from similar evasion techniques and guidance.
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/english/policy/copyright/amendments_2018/ – The Agency for Cultural Affairs summary explains Japan’s 2018 amendment to the Copyright Act, introducing Article 30‑4 and related provisions that permit certain non‑enjoyment uses of copyrighted works, including data analysis and machine learning training, without prior authorisation. It clarifies that reproductions incidental to computer processing (Article 47‑4) and limited exploitation for data verification (Article 47‑5) are allowed to facilitate AI development. However the guidance emphasises a proviso: such uses must not unreasonably prejudice the rights‑holders’ interests. The page articulates examples and government interpretation showing why training AI on web content can be lawful in Japan under specified limits today.
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-18/ai-startup-perplexity-closes-funding-round-at-9-billion-value – Bloomberg reported that Perplexity closed a funding round in December 2024 that tripled its valuation to about $9 billion, noting the company’s rapid rise from a $1 billion valuation earlier that year. The item credits investor interest in AI search and says Perplexity had launched revenue‑sharing programmes with publishers amid scrutiny over content use. Bloomberg also reported that by late 2024 Perplexity had more than 15 million active users and was processing hundreds of millions of queries monthly. The piece places Perplexity’s growth in context of wider moves by big tech to incorporate generative AI into search and market disruption.
- https://charter97.org/ru/news/2024/12/5/621551/ – This Charter97 report profiles Perplexity’s co‑founder Denis Yarats, noting he was born in Gomel, Belarus, studied applied mathematics and computer science at Belarusian State University and later earned a PhD at New York University. It summarises Yarats’s career at Microsoft (Bing), Quora and Facebook/Meta, and his move to co‑found Perplexity in San Francisco in 2022 with partners including Aravind Srinivas, Andy Konwinski and Johnny Ho. The piece reports Perplexity’s monetisation via subscriptions introduced in mid‑2023, cites user and revenue figures, and notes the company’s rapid valuation growth to multi‑billion dollar status. It also mentions about fifteen million searches per day.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative is fresh, with the earliest known publication date being August 8, 2025. No earlier versions with different figures, dates, or quotes were found. The report is based on a press release, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies or recycled content were identified.
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
No direct quotes were identified in the provided text. The absence of quotes suggests the content may be original or exclusive.
Source reliability
Score:
8
Notes:
The narrative originates from Svaboda.org, a reputable news outlet. However, the article is in Belarusian, which may limit accessibility for some readers.
Plausability check
Score:
10
Notes:
The claims made in the narrative are plausible and align with reports from other reputable sources, such as The Asahi Shimbun and Nippon.com. The language and tone are consistent with typical news reporting.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is fresh, original, and sourced from a reputable outlet. The claims are plausible and consistent with other reports. No significant issues were identified, leading to a high confidence in the assessment.
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