Publishers Strike Back Against Google in Infringement Suit

Publishers continued their fight this week to allow two Association of American Publishers members, Hachette Book Group and Cengage, to join a class action copyright infringement lawsuit against Google and its generative AI product Gemini. The lawsuit was first brought by a group of illustrators and writers in 2023.

In mid-January HBG and Cengage filed a motion to allow them to take part in the lawsuit that is now before Judge Eumi K. Lee in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Earlier this week the publishers filed its reply to Google’s motion asking the court to block the publishers' request.

At the core of Google’s argument is the notion that the publishers should have asked to intervene sooner, as well as the assertion that publishers have no interest in the case because they don’t own authors works.

In its response, the publishers argue that it was only when the case reached class certification that the publishers’ interests became clear. The new filing also rebuts Google’s other claim that publishers’ don’t own any rights.

“Google’s professed misunderstanding of ownership exemplifies exactly the kind of value that Proposed Intervenors bring to the case,” the publishers stated, arguing that both HBG and Cengage own certain rights to the works in question and that “scores” of other publishers will be impacted by the litigation.

The publishers’ response further indicates that the authors and illustrators welcome the participation of the publishers by ensuring “the publishing industry’s discrete interests are fairly treated in class litigation where both authors and publishers’ rights are at stake.”

“The decisions of some AI developers to trample the rights of authors and publishers while raking in untold profits continues to shock the conscience,” said  Maria Pallante, AAP president and CEO in a statement. “In this infringement lawsuit against one of the largest developers in the world, every creator, current and future, stands to benefit from the expertise and evidence that publishers can provide.”