Book Publishers Sue Google Over Copyright Infringement for Gemini AI Training

A lawsuit filed in federal court in New York by publishers Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier, along with bestselling author Scott Turow, accuses Google of one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history. The suit claims Google copied millions of copyrighted books without permission to train its Gemini AI models.

According to the complaint, Google repurposed books supplied for limited services like Google Books, Google Play Books, and Google Scholar. These services allowed specific uses—such as displaying snippets or selling ebooks—but not copying them for training commercial AI products. The publishers argue that Google, desperate to maintain its online dominance, abandoned its early motto of 'Don't be evil' and engaged in massive copyright infringement.

The filing alleges internal Google discussions acknowledged legal risks, with potential fines ranging from $10 billion to $100 billion for using texts from publishers via Google Play Books. The publishers contend that Google's actions harm authors and the publishing industry, as AI-generated content could reduce book sales. For instance, Gemini can generate a 100-page murder mystery for 39 cents in 20 minutes, potentially substituting for copyrighted works. "No publisher or author can compete with that," the suit states.

The lawsuit names specific books allegedly used without authorization, including NK Jemisin's The Fifth Season and Lemony Snicket's Who Could That Be at This Hour? This case is part of a broader legal battle over generative AI and copyright, with similar suits against OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta.

The plaintiffs seek statutory damages, a permanent injunction to stop the infringement, and a court order requiring Google to destroy all unauthorized copies of their works used in AI training. Google did not respond to requests for comment.