Iconic reference publishers Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster have sued Perplexity AI, escalating the legal war between media companies and the artificial intelligence industry. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a New York federal court, accuses the popular “answer engine” of widespread copyright and trademark infringement. Britannica alleges Perplexity not only copies its content without permission but also damages its trusted brand by attributing AI-generated falsehoods to its name. “Perplexity claims to be the ‘world’s first answer engine’ but the answers they provide to consumers are often Britannica’s answers,” he said. In October 2024, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp filed a similar copyright lawsuit over content from The Wall Street Journal and New York Post.