Publishers Hachette Book Group and Cengage Group on Thursday asked a California federal court for permission to intervene in a proposed class action lawsuit against Google, alleging the tech giant unlawfully used copyrighted books and textbooks to train its artificial intelligence systems.
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In a proposed complaint, the publishers accused Google of engaging in what they described as “one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history” by copying content from Hachette books and Cengage educational materials without authorisation to develop its AI products.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the publishers’ motion, which, if approved, could significantly increase the scope and potential damages of the case.
“We believe our participation will bolster the case, especially because publishers are uniquely positioned to address many of the legal, factual and evidentiary questions before the Court,” said Maria Pallante, chief executive of the Association of American Publishers, in a statement.
The lawsuit was initially filed by groups of visual artists and authors who allege that Google misused their copyrighted works to train its generative AI systems. It is one of several high-profile legal battles brought by copyright holders — including authors, artists and music labels — against major technology companies over the use of protected content in AI training.
The publishers cited 10 examples of textbooks and other books by well-known authors, including Scott Turow and N.K. Jemisin, which they claim were used without permission to train Google’s Gemini large language model. They are seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages on behalf of themselves and a broader class of authors and publishers.
The case follows other major developments in the sector, including a $1.5 billion settlement reached last year by AI company Anthropic with a group of authors over the training of its chatbot, Claude.
US District Judge Eumi Lee will decide whether to allow Hachette and Cengage to formally join the lawsuit.
