Apple sued for allegedly using pirated books to train its AI model

Apple is facing a lawsuit from neuroscientists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, who allege that Apple used pirated books from ‘shadow libraries’ to train its new AI system, Apple Intelligence.

Filed on 9 October in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the suit claims Apple accessed thousands of copyrighted works without permission, including the plaintiffs’ own books.

The researchers argue Apple’s market value surged by over $200 billion following the AI’s launch, benefiting from the alleged copyright violations.

This case adds to a growing list of legal actions targeting tech firms accused of using unlicensed content to train AI. Apple previously faced similar lawsuits from authors in September.

While Meta and Anthropic have also faced scrutiny, courts have so far ruled in their favour under the ‘fair use’ doctrine. The case highlights ongoing tensions between copyright law and the data demands of AI development.

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