Google Gemini Faces EU Copyright Test, Adviser Says

• EU adviser: Google’s Gemini may violate copyright if chatbot outputs news article text
• First EU generative AI copyright case; ruling expected in about six months

On November 3, 2026, Reuters reported that Advocate General Maciej Szpunar of the Court of Justice of the European Union issued an opinion stating that Google’s Gemini chatbot may be infringing EU copyright rules when it reproduces news article content in its responses. Szpunar explained that EU law permits AI systems to be trained on publicly available news articles under the text-and-data mining exception, but copyright still protects the original expression in news articles, not just their facts.

Szpunar emphasized that generating outputs containing protected news article text could infringe publishers’ rights. This formed the heart of his legal assessment in the lawsuit brought by Hungarian publisher Like Company against Google Ireland. The case, C-250/25, is the first to test the relationship between generative AI and copyright law before the EU Court.

A final ruling from the European Court of Justice is expected in about six months. This decision could have far-reaching effects on publishers and AI providers throughout the European Union, influencing how AI systems handle copyrighted content in user interactions, according to Reuters.