Publishers sue Google over Gemini AI training

Hachette, Cengage, Elsevier, and author Scott Turow filed a class action accusing Google of copying millions of copyrighted books to train Gemini in "one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history." The suit claims Google repurposed titles supplied for Google Books, Play Books, and Scholar, and internally flagged exposure to "$10Bs-$100Bs in potential fines." The complaint argues Gemini can generate a substitute for an original work, citing a 100-page murder mystery produced in 20 minutes for 39 cents. It adds to a wave of copyright suits against Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic, though two early California rulings favored AI firms on fair use.

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