Competition Law in the Digital Age - Newsletter March 2026
5 March 2026
Hengeler Mueller represents Google in the case Like Company (C-250/25), the first case before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to assess the copyright implications of generative AI technology.
On 10 March 2026, the oral hearing before the Grand Chamber of the CJEU took place. The main proceeding originated in Hungary, where a Hungarian news publisher filed a lawsuit against Google in connection with the alleged use of its content, inter alia, for the training of Google's large language model "Gemini" and its Gemini-powered chatbot. The Pest County Metropolitan Court then referred various questions on the interpretation of the ancillary copyright for press publishers under Art. 15 Digital Single Market Directive (EU 2019/790), in particular on the reproduction and making available to the public rights as well as the so-called Text and Data Mining exception, to the CJEU.
In addition to the Like Company and Google, representatives from the EU Commission and various Member States presented their arguments in the hearing. Following the hearing, Attorney General Szpunar will deliver his opinion on 3 September 2026.
Hengeler Mueller represents Google in the CJEU proceeding alongside Hungarian co-counsel.
Hengeler Mueller team for Google
TMT: Albrecht Conrad (London), Tobias Schubert (both partner, both lead), Marion Schmidt, Raphael de Barros Fritz, Johannes Weigl, Róża Grzybowska, Lucas Jager (all associate, all Berlin).
