NEW YORK / RankWire.AI / – Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning and Elsevier have filed a lawsuit against Google concerning its Gemini artificial intelligence platform. Author Scott Turow and his organization, S.C.R.I.B.E., are included as part of the proposed class action. The complaint was submitted 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 content via Google Books, Google Play Books and Google Scholar. Publishers and authors provided works for specific functions such as search, sales, and research access. The plaintiffs argue these agreements did not permit broader commercial use for AI training. They also contend Google downloaded extensive web-scraped datasets containing copyrighted material, some of which came from known piracy sources and paywalled services.
The 57-page complaint outlines four claims under federal law. Three relate to alleged reproduction via Google services, web scraping, and Gemini’s development or training. The fourth invokes the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The plaintiffs allege Google removed or altered copyright management information from training materials. The document also cites internal discussions on using publisher-supplied books, with one estimate placing potential fines between $10 billion and $100 billion. These allegations have not yet been tested in court.
Class Includes Registered Works
The class proposed encompasses owners of registered U.S. copyrights in qualifying books and journal articles. Eligible books must have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), while eligible articles must have a Digital Object Identifier or International Standard Serial Number. The class covers works allegedly copied from Google services or obtained through web scraping, as well as those reproduced during Gemini’s development or training.
Membership is also limited by copyright registration timing. One criterion requires registration within five years of publication and prior to Google’s alleged reproduction or distribution. Another requires registration within three months of publication. The complaint excludes government entities, Google affiliates, certain court participants, and individuals who properly opt out. The court must approve the class designation before the case proceeds on behalf of the larger group.
Request for Damages and Court-Ordered Accounting
The plaintiffs seek either statutory damages or actual damages related to any proven infringement. They also request Google’s profits attributable to any confirmed copyright violations. Their demands include injunctive relief, legal costs, and a jury trial. The complaint does not specify a total damages amount but asks Google to disclose Gemini training materials, data collection processes, and known capabilities via a court-mandated accounting.
This accounting would identify copyrighted works used in Gemini’s training and detail how Google collected, copied, processed, and encoded these materials. The plaintiffs also request the court to oversee the destruction of unauthorized copies under Google’s control. Earlier, Hachette and Cengage sought to join separate AI litigation against Google in California. The New York case expands this group to include Elsevier, Turow, and S.C.R.I.B.E., with claims centered on Google services, web scraping, and Gemini’s training process.