Authors Guild

Books 3 has revealed thousands of pirated Australian books. In the age of AI, is copyright law still fit for purpose?

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 29, 2023

Thousands of Australian books have been found on a pirated dataset of ebooks, known as Books3, used to train generative AI.

Key Points: 
  • Thousands of Australian books have been found on a pirated dataset of ebooks, known as Books3, used to train generative AI.
  • Richard Flanagan, Helen Garner, Tim Winton and Tim Flannery are among the leading local authors affected – along, of course, with writers from around the world.

AI moving at speed

    • Just last year, the issue of AI was only faintly on the cultural radar.
    • But while AI technology is moving at high speed, the law moves slowly.
    • Read more:
      Authors are resisting AI with petitions and lawsuits.

A spate of copyright disputes

    • There has been a spate of copyright disputes around AI datasets and copyright-protected works.
    • Earlier this month, the US Authors Guild filed a class action, with 17 authors including Jonathan Franzen and Jodi Picoult, against OpenAI for copyright infringement.
    • This followed the first copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in July.

Copyright is not the answer

    • Likewise, copyright law’s rules on fair dealing in Australia and fair use in the United States would likely protect some uses.
    • Read more:
      Prosecraft has infuriated authors by using their books without consent – but what does copyright law say?

‘A type of market failure’

    • The difference then was that these technologies did not fundamentally threaten artistic and creative labour in the way AI does.
    • To appropriate a part of someone’s market is a radically different thing to producing a product that could entirely displace them in that market.
    • A type of market failure is occurring here, because authors are not being compensated even though their works, collectively, are the basis for new and commercially viable AI products.

Lieff Cabraser & Cowan, DeBaets File Federal Class Action Copyright Infringement Suit in New York District Court Against OpenAI on Behalf of Authors Guild and Professional Authors

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 20, 2023

The suit includes claims for direct copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C.

Key Points: 
  • The suit includes claims for direct copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C.
  • section 501 as well as vicarious and contributory copyright infringement, and injunctive relief in the form of a fair licensing regime as well as statutory and other damages.
  • “Without plaintiffs’ and the proposed class’ copyrighted works, Defendants would have a vastly different commercial product,” notes Lieff Cabraser partner Rachel Geman, Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class.
  • Defendants could have ‘trained’ their large language models on works in the public domain or paid a reasonable licensing fee to use copyrighted works.”

Authors are resisting AI with petitions and lawsuits. But they have an advantage: we read to form relationships with writers

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

In the United States last week, the Authors Guild submitted an open letter to the chief executives of prominent AI companies, asking AI developers to obtain consent from, credit and fairly compensate authors.

Key Points: 
  • In the United States last week, the Authors Guild submitted an open letter to the chief executives of prominent AI companies, asking AI developers to obtain consent from, credit and fairly compensate authors.
  • The letter was signed by more than 10,000 authors and their supporters, including James Patterson, Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen and Margaret Atwood.
  • Unpacking these concerns often reveals as much about existing practices of writing and publishing as it does about the new technology.

How does AI work?

    • Such models examine how text is constructed, and essentially calculate the statistical likelihood certain words will appear together.
    • In other words, generative AI creates a purely structural, probabilistic understanding of language and uses that to guess a plausible response.
    • If you can access writing in your browser, it’s safe to assume AI models are using it.
    • In the world’s first copyright-related ChatGPT lawsuit, two US authors (Mona Awad and Paul Tremblay) are currently suing OpenAI, claiming their books were used to train the AI software without their consent.

Can AI generate ‘human’ writing?

    • Browsing Amazon in July 2023, 984 books explicitly attribute ChatGPT, the best-known and most widely used generative AI, as an author.
    • But can generative AI produce acceptably human creative writing?
    • These articles, however, are procedural, fill-in-the-blanks style affairs: a kind of computational madlibs of exchange rates and share prices.
    • Similarly, unlike the AP example, this work is “original” insomuch as it is a new, previously non-existent piece of creative text.
    • Read more:
      Replacing news editors with AI is a worry for misinformation, bias and accountability

AI and ‘the bestseller code’

    • The flurry of replies included authors such as Jennifer Brody, who managed to include AI protections in recent contract negotiations.
    • Overwhelmingly, however, provisions regarding AI are not yet explicitly included in author contracts.
    • At what point does a clause in an author contract regarding AI usage mean an author can’t use their own writing to generate new work?
    • Publishers acquiring the right to use manuscripts to train generative AI is speculative.
    • Some are suggesting AI will render the author disposable: publishers will be able to package and market any piece of AI-generated text.

What do we value?

    • It’s that these are values are at the heart of reading and writing.
    • Henry James wrote that the:
      deepest quality of a work of art will always be the quality of the mind of the producer.
    • deepest quality of a work of art will always be the quality of the mind of the producer.

Revelation Wins Best New Age Fiction in 2023 International Book Awards

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

AVE MARIA, Fla., June 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Victor Acquista is pleased to announce that his novel, Revelation, received top honors in the 2023 International Book Awards in the category of New Age Fiction. This is the second book in The Saga of Venom and Flame series. Book one, Serpent Rising, received Best New Age Fiction in the 2021 IBA competition.

Key Points: 
  • Book Two in The Saga of Venom and Flame series follows Serpent Rising, the 2021 award winner
    AVE MARIA, Fla., June 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Author Victor Acquista is pleased to announce that his novel, Revelation, received top honors in the 2023 International Book Awards in the category of New Age Fiction.
  • This is the second book in The Saga of Venom and Flame series.
  • Book one, Serpent Rising, received Best New Age Fiction in the 2021 IBA competition.
  • "I am honored that both novels have received premier recognition in the International Book Awards."

News/Media Alliance Applauds Senate Judiciary for Passing Bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA)

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 16, 2023

ARLINGTON, Va., June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Senate Judiciary Committee has favorably voted 14-7 for the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S. 1094), which would allow digital journalism providers to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for fair compensation for use of their valuable content. The tech platforms are the dominant distributors of news content, reaping tremendous financial benefit without compensation to those who create the content. They also capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving local publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism.

Key Points: 
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee has favorably voted 14-7 for the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S. 1094), which would allow digital journalism providers to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for fair compensation for use of their valuable content.
  • ARLINGTON, Va., June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Senate Judiciary Committee has favorably voted 14-7 for the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) (S. 1094), which would allow digital journalism providers to collectively negotiate with Google and Facebook for fair compensation for use of their valuable content.
  • They also capture the majority of U.S. digital ad revenue, leaving local publishers with little to reinvest in the production of high-quality journalism.
  • We applaud the Senate Judiciary Committee's passage of this monumental legislation for journalism publishers across our country."

Davis Wright Tremaine Secures Win for Publishing Industry and Authors in Major Copyright Case

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 30, 2023

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP’s media litigation team, representing leading book publishers, has been granted summary judgment in a federal lawsuit that challenged mass-scale copyright infringement by the Internet Archive.

Key Points: 
  • Davis Wright Tremaine LLP’s media litigation team, representing leading book publishers, has been granted summary judgment in a federal lawsuit that challenged mass-scale copyright infringement by the Internet Archive.
  • Plaintiffs in the case were Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House.
  • They were supported by amici that included the Copyright Alliance, the Authors Guild, the National Writers Union, and the National Press Photographers Association.
  • “Internet Archive’s infringing activities, if allowed to continue, would threaten the very ecosystem that makes books possible.”
    McNamara and Steinman are both partners in the New York office of Davis Wright Tremaine.

Globally Bestselling Author and Supporter of Children's Literacy, Mary Pope Osborne, Joins Teddy Grahams and Save The Children to Inspire a Summer of Storytelling

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 5, 2022

EAST HANOVER, N.J., July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer, Teddy Grahams and Save The Children's 100 Days of Reading program will come together to make summer even better with books.  Teddy Grahams believes that kids deserve a carefree childhood, and the brand is on a mission to help parents and caretakers support their child's growth, development, and cheerfulness through storytelling and a robust partnership program with the 100 Days of Reading initiative and New York Times bestselling children's book author Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House).

Key Points: 
  • "At Teddy Grahams, we believe kids deserve a carefree childhood and we're proud to continue that journey with Save The Children this summer along with Mary Pope Osborne."
  • Throughout the summer, Teddy Grahams will share resources to help inspire exploration and foster creativity.
  • Teddy Grahams is alsocommitting $100,000 to the 100 Days of Reading Summer's Better with Books campaign to help kids in need.
  • It's how children first learn to communicate and comprehend their world," said Betsy Zorio, Vice President of U.S. Programs for Save The Children.

More than 25 Organizations Join Forces with the American Library Association to Unite Against Book Bans

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 10, 2022

CHICAGO, May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) and a coalition of over 25 groups are banding together to empower individuals and communities to fight censorship and protect the freedom to read. Organizations including the American Federation of Teachers and the Authors Guild have joined the association's Unite Against Book Bans campaign to raise awareness about the recent rise in book challenges in public libraries and schools.

Key Points: 
  • "Book bans are about limiting kids' freedom to read and teachers' freedom to teach," said Weingarten.
  • The majority of these bans target titles with racial and LGBTQ themes, cruelly erasing young readers' lived experience.
  • That is why we joined Unite Against Book Bans and continue to implement programs such as our recently launched Banned Books Club."
  • The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services.

U.S. District Court Grants Win to Authors Guild Members, Amazon Publishing, and Penguin Random House in Kiss Library Piracy Suit

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 30, 2021

The plaintiffs filed suit against the book piracy entity and its operators on July 7, 2020.

Key Points: 
  • The plaintiffs filed suit against the book piracy entity and its operators on July 7, 2020.
  • We could not be happier with the decision, said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild.
  • Authors rarely have the necessary resources to fight commercial-scale piracy and take on protracted litigation, so we are extremely grateful to Amazon Publishing and Penguin Random House for their collaboration on this action.
  • We are grateful to the Authors Guild and Penguin Random House for their collaboration in bringing Kiss Library to justice and protecting authors rights.

Study Finds Internet Economy Grew Seven Times Faster Than Total U.S. Economy, Created Over 7 Million Jobs in the Last Four Years

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 19, 2021

More internet jobs, 38 percent, were created by small firms and self-employed individuals than by the largest internet companies, which generated 34 percent.

Key Points: 
  • More internet jobs, 38 percent, were created by small firms and self-employed individuals than by the largest internet companies, which generated 34 percent.
  • There are 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the online creator economy.
  • The 17.6 million direct and indirect jobs generated by the internet mark a dramatic increase compared with just three million jobs when IAB began measuring employment growth in 2008.
  • The study also showed that the commercial internet directly generated seven million jobs and indirectly provided jobs to another 10.65 million people fulfilling service needs created by internet-based companies.