Science & Tech · AI · 1 hr ago
EU court adviser says Gemini may infringe publishers’ copyright
Google’s Gemini chatbot may infringe publishers’ rights when it uses press articles to answer users.
The issue is part of a case brought by Hungarian website operator Like Company against Google, now before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Advocate General Maciej Szpunar said a chatbot could break copyright rules if it gets articles by bypassing paywalls or reproduces their wording recognisably.
Copyright protects an article’s specific expression, not the facts it reports.
Szpunar said using protected material to train AI models is generally allowed under the EU’s text and data mining exception, but the case record has no proof that Like Company’s articles trained Gemini.
The case matters to publishers because chatbot answers can reduce the need for users to visit the original websites.
The EU court will decide the case next; the adviser’s opinion is not binding, though judges usually follow such advice.
An adviser to the European Union’s top court said Google’s Gemini chatbot could infringe publishers’ rights in certain circumstances when it reuses press articles in responses.
Advocate General Maciej Szpunar said infringement may occur if a chatbot obtains articles by unlawfully bypassing paywalls or reproduces their expression in a recognisable way.
Copyright protects the specific form of an article, not the facts it reports, Szpunar said.
He said using copyright-protected material to train large language models is generally covered by the EU text and data mining exception.
The case was brought by Hungarian website operator Like Company, and the adviser’s opinion is not binding on the court.
- Who
- Google and Hungarian website operator Like Company are parties to the case; Advocate General Maciej Szpunar issued the opinion.
- What
- Szpunar said Gemini’s reuse of press articles in answers could infringe publishers’ rights in certain circumstances.
- When
- November 3, 2026.
- Where
- The case is before the Court of Justice of the European Union, following a request from a Hungarian judge.
- Why
- Like Company alleges Google used its articles in Gemini’s training and reproduced them in user responses; the court was asked to clarify publishers’ protections.
Like Company and publishers
Article reuse
Like Company and publishers
Like Company alleges Gemini reproduced its articles in answers, making them available to users.
The sources do not report Google’s response to the allegations.
Training data
Like Company and publishers
Like Company alleges Google used its articles to train Gemini.
The sources do not report Google’s response; Szpunar said the case file contained no evidence that Like Company’s articles were used for training.
Like Company says Gemini reproduced its articles in responses and made them available to users during this period.
Advocate General Maciej Szpunar issued his opinion on the dispute.
The Court of Justice of the European Union is to issue a ruling; the adviser’s opinion is not binding.
- Adviser
- Maciej Szpunar
- Parties
- Google and Like Company
- Like Company
- Hungarian company that operates online portals
- Alleged reproduction period
- June 13, 2023 to May 31, 2024
- Court
- Court of Justice of the European Union
3 sources
What people are saying
When an LLM (large language model)-driven chatbot retrieves a publication from a press publisher’s website, reuses that publication to generate an answer, and provides that answer to the user, the press publisher’s right may be infringed in certain circumstances
only the specific form of expression
freely permitted under the text and data mining exception