Judge lets former NPR host David Greene's NotebookLM voice lawsuit against Google move forward

Google will have to defend itself against David Greene's claim that one of the synthetic voices in NotebookLM was modeled on his. In an order filed October 23, Judge Shella Deen of Santa Clara County Superior Court in California overruled Google's demurrer, the procedural challenge arguing that the complaint was legally insufficient, on all four causes of action.

What the court decided

Greene, who hosted NPR's Morning Edition for nearly a decade and now presents Left, Right & Center, alleges that Google used recordings of his voice to create the default male host of Audio Overviews. That NotebookLM feature, launched in September 2024, turns uploaded documents into a podcast-style exchange between two AI hosts. The complaint argues that Google then used the voice to market a product sold through paid subscriptions, including a $19.99-per-month tier, and in a December 2024 partnership with Spotify. It cites listeners who said the voice sounded like him and a forensic voice-recognition firm that reported a relatively high likelihood of a match.

Four claims survive: the statutory right of publicity under California Civil Code section 3344, unfair competition, common law misappropriation, and quasi-contract and unjust enrichment. According to RBR, a separate demurrer filed by Alphabet was sustained with leave to amend, giving Greene a short window to add allegations about the parent company's liability. He is seeking damages, restitution, disgorgement and an injunction.

Google's arguments

Google contended that the complaint showed only that Greene's journalism is well known, not his voice. The judge disagreed, reasoning that a radio broadcaster reaches the public precisely through his voice. She also rejected the argument that federal copyright law preempts the claims, noting that a voice cannot be copyrighted and that the case concerns the program's outputs rather than its training inputs. When the suit was first reported in February, Google called the allegation baseless and told NPR that it had hired a professional actor for the voice.

What remains open

At this stage the court treats the complaint's allegations as true, so nothing has been proven. The judge wrote that whether Google actually built the voice from Greene's recordings is a factual question, and she acknowledged that the case applies a statute written long before generative AI.

The case has already moved between courts: Greene filed it on January 23, Google removed it to federal court, and a federal judge in the Northern District of California sent it back to state court on July 23. Neither side issued a statement alongside the order.