Remember how I started the week by contrasting the Paris Book Festival, where threatened boycotts over AI flooding the market had forced Amazon to withdraw its sponsorship, with London Book Fair, hosted in the less radical home of the open letter?
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Well, it seems like literary actors had their own anti-AI stunt in store for London after all (whether it's a storming of the barricades or an expansion on the epistolary tradition I will let you decide). Ten thousand writers have coauthored a book being distributed at London Book Fair entitled “Don't Steal This Book.” This story is, unsurprisingly, everywhere right now, but a hat tip to our fabulous editor in chief, Howard, who first nudged me to it.
The Blank Book Protest
“Don't Steal This Book” is entirely blank except for the authors' names (which in fairness makes it at least the length of a modestly sized novelette). The timing to coincide with London Book Fair will no doubt generate considerable publicity. But there is a far more important deadline driving the project: the publication of the UK government's assessment of the impact of proposed AI legislation. The release date for that is March 18 at the latest.
The back cover blurb reads, “The UK government must not legalize book theft to benefit AI companies,” a direct reference to the proposed legislation. For context, the consultation on which an assessment is due outlined four options for future legislation. They were:
The Legislative Options
- Option 0: Do nothing—copyright and related laws remain as they are.
- Option 1: Strengthen copyright requiring licensing in all cases.
- Option 2: A broad data mining exception.
- Option 3: A data mining exception that allows rights holders to reserve their rights, underpinned by supporting measures on transparency (government's preferred option).
In short, the main suggestion on the table is that tech firms get to use copyrighted content unless authors opt out. The call from the “authors” of “Don't Steal This Book” is for tech companies only to be able to use works if they pay licensing fees. And the preferred way for this to happen seems to be licensing schemes into which rights holders can enroll.
This story is less “watch this space” and more “coming soon.”
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
