Google is facing a potential legal setback in Europe after an adviser to the European Union’s highest court warned that its Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot could violate copyright laws when using news articles to generate responses. The opinion could have significant implications for AI companies, digital publishers and the future of online news distribution.

EU Court Adviser Raises Copyright Concerns Over Google Gemini

BRUSSELS — An adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said Tuesday, November 3, that Google’s Gemini chatbot may infringe publishers’ rights when it reproduces protected news content in responses to users.

The legal opinion comes amid growing disputes between news organizations and major technology companies over the use of copyrighted journalism in AI-powered search tools and chatbots.

Publishers argue that AI-generated summaries can reduce traffic to their websites while allowing technology platforms to benefit from professionally produced news content without adequate compensation.

The dispute has also led to complaints before European Union and national antitrust regulators.

Hungarian Publisher Challenges Google’s Use of News Content

The case involves Hungarian website operator Like Company and Google, the U.S.-based technology company behind Gemini.

At the center of the dispute is whether an AI chatbot violates European copyright protections when it retrieves published articles and incorporates their content into answers provided to users.

A ruling against Google could require the company to compensate publishers for certain uses of their material.

Such an outcome could provide financial support to digital news organizations experiencing declining website traffic as consumers increasingly turn to AI-generated answers instead of traditional search results.

Unlike conventional search engines, which typically display links directing readers to original articles, AI chatbots can deliver summaries directly within their interfaces.

Court Adviser Explains When AI Responses May Infringe Copyright

Advocate General Maciej Szpunar said publishers’ rights could be violated under specific circumstances involving the retrieval and reproduction of news articles.

“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,” Szpunar said.

According to his opinion, infringement may occur when a chatbot accesses protected publications by unlawfully bypassing paywalls or other technical restrictions.

Copyright concerns may also arise when AI-generated responses reproduce “the form of expression of that publication in a recognisable manner”.

However, Szpunar emphasized that copyright protection does not extend to the underlying facts reported in news articles.

Instead, European copyright rules protect “only the specific form of expression”.

The distinction is important because AI systems can generally communicate factual information without necessarily reproducing the copyrighted language used by journalists and publishers.

AI Training and Text Mining Remain Separate Legal Issues

While the opinion raised concerns about Gemini’s use of published articles in responses, Szpunar drew a distinction between generating answers and training artificial intelligence models.

Large language models, or LLMs, are trained on extensive collections of text to recognize language patterns, generate responses and summarize information.

Szpunar said using copyrighted material to train such systems is “freely permitted under the text and data mining exception.”

That exception provides a legal framework for certain automated analyses of copyrighted material under European law.

The adviser also said there was no evidence that Google had used Like Company’s articles to train Gemini.

Google Emphasizes Importance of AI Development

Google has maintained that text and data mining exceptions are essential to Europe’s technological competitiveness and the continued development of artificial intelligence.

The company argues that these legal protections help support innovation in AI systems.

The broader dispute highlights the challenge facing regulators as they seek to balance copyright protections for publishers with the development of increasingly sophisticated AI technologies.

For U.S. technology companies operating internationally, European court decisions could influence how AI products retrieve, summarize and display copyrighted information.

EU Court Decision Could Shape AI Copyright Rules

The Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, is expected to issue its ruling in the coming months.

Although the advocate general’s opinion is not legally binding, the court follows its advisers’ recommendations in a majority of cases.

The eventual decision could clarify the circumstances under which AI-generated responses infringe publishers’ rights and whether technology companies must obtain authorization or provide compensation for certain uses of news content.

The outcome may also influence ongoing discussions between publishers, technology platforms and regulators about how journalism should be used in AI-powered services.

Publishers and AI Companies Await Landmark Ruling

The Google Gemini copyright dispute represents another significant test of how existing intellectual property laws apply to generative artificial intelligence.

For publishers, the case raises questions about protecting original reporting and maintaining revenue as AI tools reshape online information consumption.

For Google and other AI developers, the forthcoming ruling could establish important boundaries governing the use of copyrighted news articles in chatbot responses.

The European court’s decision will help determine how publishers’ rights are enforced as AI-powered search and information services continue to expand.