Hachette Book Group and Cengage are joining a 2023 lawsuit against Google for using books to train its AI model known as Gemini. Until now, publishers had not been represented in the suit, which was brought by authors and illustrators.
Publishers accuse Google of illegally copying millions of books rather than licensing books for training. In a statement, the president of the Association of American Publishers says, “The outcome of this case could have far-reaching consequences for the legal rights, remedies, and livelihoods of authors and publishers. … AAP and its members aim to support the creators suing Google. We believe our participation will bolster the case, especially because publishers are uniquely positioned to address many of the legal, factual, and evidentiary questions before the Court.” More commentary on publishers’ accusations can be found at ChatGPT Is Eating the World.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
