NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning and Elsevier have initiated a lawsuit against Google concerning its Gemini artificial intelligence platform. Author Scott Turow and his company, S.C.R.I.B.E., have joined the class action proposal. The complaint was filed on July 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiffs accuse Google of copying millions of copyrighted books and journal articles without authorization during the development and training of Gemini. As of July 15, the court had yet to rule on the claims or certify the class.
According to the complaint, Google obtained materials via Google Books, Google Play Books, and Google Scholar. Publishers and authors provided works for specific purposes such as search, sales, and research access. The plaintiffs argue these agreements did not permit broader commercial AI training. They also contend Google downloaded extensive web-scraped datasets containing copyrighted works, some sourced from known pirate sites and paywalled services.
The 57-page complaint outlines four federal claims. Three relate to alleged reproduction through Google services, web scraping, and Gemini’s development or training. The fourth is based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The plaintiffs allege Google removed or altered copyright management information from training data. The document also mentions internal discussions about using publisher-provided books. One assessment estimates potential fines between $10 billion and $100 billion, though these claims have not been tested in court.
Class Includes Owners of Registered Works
The proposed class comprises owners of registered U.S. copyrights for qualifying books and journal articles. Eligible books must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), while eligible articles require a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). The class also includes works allegedly copied from Google services or acquired through web scraping, as well as those reproduced during Gemini’s training or development.
Membership is also limited by registration timing. One criterion requires registration within five years of publication and before Google’s alleged reproduction or distribution. Another mandates registration within three months of publication. Exclusions include government entities, Google affiliates, certain court participants, and individuals who properly exit the class. Court approval is required for class certification before the case can proceed on behalf of the larger group.
Claims for Damages and Court-Ordered Accounting
The plaintiffs seek either statutory damages or actual damages for proven infringements. They also demand Google account for profits derived from any confirmed copyright violations. Their requested remedies include an injunction, legal costs, and a jury trial. The complaint does not specify a total damages amount but requests Google to disclose Gemini training data, collection methods, and model capabilities through a court-ordered accounting.
This accounting would identify copyrighted works used in Gemini’s training, detailing how Google sourced, copied, processed, and encoded these materials. The plaintiffs also seek court supervision to destroy any unauthorized copies under Google’s control. Earlier, Hachette and Cengage sought to join separate AI litigation in California against Google. The New York case expands the scope by including Elsevier, Turow, and S.C.R.I.B.E., with claims related to Google services, web scraping, and Gemini training.