Key holding or allegation
A September 2025 ruling allowed claims tied sufficiently to specified models to continue while dismissing claims concerning models for which the complaint did not plausibly connect plaintiffs' works to training.
Why it matters
Strong U.S. authority on the evidentiary nexus between a plaintiff's work and a particular model's training data.
Facts
Plaintiffs alleged that their works were used to train specified Google generative-AI models.
Issues before the court
Whether plaintiffs plausibly connected particular protected works to the actual training of identified models.
What the court did not decide
No final finding that the identified training infringed copyright or that any defence fails.
Procedural timeline
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Motion-to-dismiss ruling: Training-infringement claims tied sufficiently to specified Google models survived, while claims lacking a plausible nexus between plaintiffs' works and particular model training were dismissed.