Archive · 16 Jan 2026
Publishers Join Google AI Training Lawsuit
Some big book publishers, like Hachette and Cengage, want to join a lawsuit against Google.
They say Google used their books and textbooks to teach its AI without asking permission.
This is a big deal because it's like using someone's work without paying them.
Other artists and writers have also sued tech companies for similar reasons.
The publishers think they can help the case because they know a lot about the legal issues.
Google hasn't said anything about this yet.
Another company, Anthropic, had to pay a lot of money to settle a similar case last year.
Hachette Book Group and Cengage Group seek to join a lawsuit against Google for alleged misuse of copyrighted material in AI training.
Publishers claim Google copied content from their books and textbooks without permission to build its Gemini AI model.
The lawsuit is currently led by a group of visual artists suing Google for misusing their work to train an AI-powered image generator.
Publishers cited examples of their textbooks and other books, including works by Scott Turow and N.K. Jemisin, that Google allegedly misused.
Anthropic settled a similar lawsuit for $1.5 billion last year with a group of authors suing over its use of their work to train its AI chatbot Claude.
- Who
- Hachette Book Group, Cengage Group, Google
- What
- Publishers seeking to join lawsuit against Google for alleged misuse of copyrighted material in AI training
- When
- January 15, 2024
- Where
- California federal court
- Why
- Publishers claim Google copied content from their books and textbooks without permission to build its AI capabilities
- Publishers Involved
- Hachette Book Group, Cengage Group
- Allegation
- Misuse of copyrighted material for AI training
- AI Model Involved
- Google's Gemini large language model
- Authors Cited
- Scott Turow, N.K. Jemisin
- Current Plaintiffs
- Group of visual artists
- Similar Case Settlement
- Anthropic settled for $1.5 billion