NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Three leading U.S. publishing companies have filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of copyright infringement related to its Gemini artificial intelligence platform. Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier initiated a proposed class action alongside author Scott Turow and his firm, S.C.R.I.B.E. The complaint was submitted on July 10 in a federal court in New York, alleging that Google copied millions of copyrighted books and journal articles without authorization during the development and training phases of Gemini models.
According to the plaintiffs, Google sourced material via Google Books, Google Play Books, and Google Scholar. The publishers and authors had contributed works to facilitate search, sales, and research functions, as detailed in the complaint. However, the filing asserts that these arrangements did not grant Google permission to duplicate the works for commercial AI training purposes. Additionally, Google is accused of utilizing web-scraped datasets that included content from piracy sites and subscription services protected by paywalls.
Google faces four allegations outlined in the 57-page complaint. Three of these claims concern illegal reproduction through Google services, web scraping activities, and the use or training of Gemini. The fourth claim invokes the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, accusing Google of removing or altering copyright management information, such as author names, ownership rights, and publication details. As of July 15, the court had not yet issued a ruling on these claims or granted class-action status.
Four allegations focus on Gemini’s training data
The proposed class covers individuals or entities with registered U.S. copyrights in books and journal articles. To qualify, books must have an International Sztandard Book Number, and articles must possess a Digital Object Identifier or an International Standard Serial Number. This definition pertains to works Google allegedly copied from its platforms, downloaded via web scraping, or reproduced during the development of Gemini. Eligibility is also limited to works registered within the deadlines specified in the complaint.
The complaint highlights works from publishers Hachette, Cengage, and Elsevier as examples of the alleged copying. It encompasses fiction, textbooks, and academic materials across various categories. The filing further references internal Google evaluations concerning legal risks associated with publisher-provided books. One such assessment reportedly warned of potential fines ranging from $10 billion to $100 billion, according to the plaintiffs. The court has not made any determinations regarding these internal documents.
Plaintiffs demand damages and transparency
The plaintiffs seek statutory damages or actual damages along with any profits derived from proven infringement. They also request an injunction, reimbursement of legal expenses, and a jury trial. Their proposed court order would compel Google to disclose the materials and data collection methods used for training Gemini. Furthermore, they ask for court supervision to ensure the destruction of unauthorized copies under Google’s control. The complaint does not specify a total damage amount sought.
This New York case follows an earlier attempt by Hachette and Cengage to join separate Google AI copyright litigation in California. The Association of American Publishers stated that the new lawsuit preserves certain claims outside the scope of that ongoing proceeding. The current case involves Elsevier, Turow, and S.C.R.I.B.E., alongside the two publishers, and requests the New York court to determine whether Google’s Gemini training practices and data collection violate federal copyright laws and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
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