Google AI chatbot may break press copyright rules: EU legal adviser

An EU legal adviser has warned that Google's AI chatbot Gemini may potentially violate copyright laws when it utilizes press articles to generate responses, marking the first generative AI case to reach the European Court of Justice. The case stems from a dispute between Google and Hungarian press publisher Like Company, who claim their articles were used to train Gemini.

Advocate General Maciej Szpunar stated that while material for training AI models is permitted under the text and data mining exception, there is no evidence that Like Company's articles were specifically used for Gemini's training. Szpunar advised the court to focus on Gemini's responses, noting that while the publisher's right does not cover mere reported facts, it does protect the specific form of expression used.

A Google spokesperson clarified that Gemini creates original outputs by learning linguistic patterns, with extensive publisher controls allowing rightsholders to opt out, and welcomed the advocate general's opinion recognizing that EU law permits AI training on publicly available information.