Google Sued Over Gemini AI Training on Publisher Content

A coalition of major publishers and authors has filed a class action lawsuit against Google in federal court, alleging the company trained its Gemini AI platform on copyrighted books without authorization.

The plaintiffs include publishing houses Hachette, Cengage, and Elsevier, along with author Scott Turow and the organization S.C.R.I.B.E. According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Google allegedly removed or altered copyright information on these works to hide that Gemini was trained on unauthorized materials.

The Google Books connection

The lawsuit highlights a particularly contentious element: publishers had previously granted Google limited rights to use their content for Google Books, a search service that displays short snippets and bibliographic information without showing full texts. The plaintiffs argue Google violated this scope-limited agreement by using the same book copies to train Gemini, along with books from the Google Play store.

"Google illegally copied works from all these scope-limited programs for AI training, knowing it lacked authorization to do so," the lawsuit states.

The complaint also references an internal Google document that allegedly acknowledged using copyrighted books for AI training could be "highly problematic for Google" and might result in "$10Bs-$100Bs in potential fines."

Why it matters

This lawsuit represents a strategic shift in copyright litigation against AI companies. By emphasizing an existing business relationship where publishers explicitly granted limited rights, the plaintiffs may sidestep the "fair use" defense that has succeeded in earlier cases. If courts determine Google exceeded the scope of its original agreements, it could establish new boundaries for how AI companies acquire training data from partners.

The broader legal landscape

The case joins a growing wave of copyright litigation targeting AI companies including Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Two early California court decisions have ruled in favor of AI companies, determining that using copyrighted works for training constitutes fair use under current U.S. copyright law.

However, Anthropic faced a $1.5 billion fine for copyright violations—the largest payout in U.S. copyright law history. Approximately 500,000 writers became eligible for payments of at least $3,000, though many opted out to preserve their ability to pursue additional legal action.

The New York venue for this Google lawsuit means a different judge will evaluate the claims, potentially producing a different interpretation of fair use in the AI training context. Google has not yet responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

These details were first reported by TechCrunch.