Publishers Seek to Join Google AI Copyright Lawsuit

Two major publishing companies, Hachette Book Group and Cengage Group, have asked a federal court in California for permission to join a high-profile copyright lawsuit against Google, Reuters reports. The case alleges that Google used copyrighted works without authorization to train its artificial intelligence systems.

In their court filing, the publishers claim that material from Hachette titles and Cengage textbooks was copied on a widespread scale to develop Google’s Gemini large language model. They argue that their participation would strengthen the lawsuit by addressing legal, factual, and evidentiary questions unique to the publishing industry.

The underlying class action was initially filed by visual artists and authors alleging unauthorized use of their works in AI training. The publishers cite examples including books by Scott Turow and N.K. Jemisin and are seeking unspecified damages for themselves and a broader class of authors and publishers.

U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee will decide whether Hachette and Cengage can formally intervene in the case.