Apple has been sued in a California federal court by two U.S. neuroscientists who allege the company used thousands of copyrighted books to train its artificial intelligence system, Apple Intelligence, without permission.
Professors Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in New York filed the proposed class action on Thursday. They claim Apple relied on “shadow libraries” of pirated books to develop its AI features, which are integrated into iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices.
According to the complaint, the pirated materials included the professors’ own works — Champions of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain Puzzles and Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Everyday Deceptions.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and a court order preventing Apple from continuing to use copyrighted material to train its AI models.
“The day after Apple officially introduced Apple Intelligence, the company gained more than $200 billion in value — the single most lucrative day in the history of the company,” the complaint stated, arguing that Apple’s AI success was partly built on misused copyrighted works.
Apple has not yet responded publicly to the allegations. Representatives for the company and the plaintiffs did not immediately return requests for comment.
The case adds to a growing wave of lawsuits targeting tech giants over AI training practices. OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, and Anthropic have all faced similar legal challenges from authors, media organizations, and music publishers. In August, Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a copyright lawsuit brought by a separate group of authors.
The neuroscientists’ lawsuit could become one of the most high-profile copyright cases against Apple, as legal scrutiny intensifies over how companies source data to train large AI models.
