A coalition of leading publishers and authors has filed a class action lawsuit, alleging Google used their copyrighted works without consent to train its Gemini AI. The case could set new legal standards for AI and copyright in the U.S.
Google is facing a new class action lawsuit from a group of prominent publishers and authors who claim the company used their copyrighted materials without authorization to train its Gemini AI platform. The plaintiffs-Hachette, Cengage, Elsevier, author Scott Turow, and S.C.R.I.B.E.-allege in court filings that Google not only copied their works but also deliberately altered or removed copyright information to hide the use of these materials in AI training.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Google of exceeding the permissions granted for projects like Google Books, where publishers had previously allowed limited use of their content for search and snippet display. According to the complaint, Google allegedly trained Gemini on full copies of books from these programs and from the Google Play store, despite lacking explicit consent for such use.
Plaintiffs cite an internal Google document warning that using copyrighted books for AI training could expose the company to “$10Bs-$100Bs in potential fines.” The suit also claims Google’s actions were intentional and designed to avoid detection by copyright holders.
This legal battle is part of a broader wave of lawsuits targeting AI companies over the use of copyrighted content. While two early California court decisions have sided with AI firms-ruling that training AI on copyrighted works may qualify as “fair use” under current U.S. law-other cases have produced different outcomes. Notably, Anthropic was ordered to pay $1.5 billion for unauthorized use of copyrighted works, with around 500,000 writers eligible for at least $3,000 each. Many authors, however, declined the settlement to pursue further legal action.
The ongoing legal uncertainty has left publishers and tech companies in a tense standoff. The outcome of the New York case could influence future interpretations of fair use and copyright in the context of AI. As the legal landscape evolves, companies like Google are also tightening enforcement in other areas, such as extending penalties for repeat violations on its business platforms, as seen in recent policy changes detailed in this report on stricter review ban periods.
Founded in 1998, Google has grown into one of the world’s largest technology companies, with over 180,000 employees and annual revenues exceeding $250 billion. Its AI initiatives, including Gemini, are central to its long-term strategy, but have increasingly drawn scrutiny from regulators and copyright holders worldwide.
