CALIFORNIA– Apple is facing a lawsuit in federal court filed by two neuroscientists who claim the company used pirated books to train its artificial intelligence system, known as Apple Intelligence.
The suit, filed Thursday in California by Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, professors at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, alleges that Apple relied on “shadow libraries” — illegal databases containing thousands of copyrighted books — to build and train its AI model. The researchers filed the case as a proposed class action, meaning other authors could join the lawsuit.
The complaint accuses Apple of using datasets containing copyright-infringing material scraped from the internet, including the neuroscientists’ own works: “Champions of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain Puzzles” “Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Everyday Deceptions.”
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The professors are seeking monetary damages and a court order to prevent Apple from continuing to use their copyrighted material. This lawsuit follows a similar case filed last month by another group of authors who accused Apple of misusing their literary works in AI training. Apple joins a growing list of tech giants — including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms — that are facing lawsuits over the unauthorized use of copyrighted materials to train artificial intelligence models.
In August, Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by authors over the training of its chatbot, Claude. According to the complaint, Apple’s stock surged after the launch of Apple Intelligence, gaining over $200 billion in market value in a single day, which the lawsuit called “the most lucrative day in the company’s history.”
Apple has not yet commented on the case. Representatives for the neuroscientists and their attorneys also did not immediately respond to media requests. Apple Intelligence, unveiled earlier this year, integrates AI-powered features into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, promising more personalized and context-aware experiences for users.