Authors Guild to offer “Human Authored” label on books to compete with AI; Marketplace.org, October 7, 2024

Matt Levin, Marketplace.org ; Authors Guild to offer “Human Authored” label on books to compete with AI

"The Authors Guild, the professional association representing published novelists and nonfiction writers, is set to offer to its 15,000 members a new certificate they can place directly on their book covers.

About the size of literary award stickers or celebrity book club endorsements adorning the cover art of the latest bestseller, the certificate is a simple, round logo with two boldfaced words inside: “Human Authored.”

As in, written by a human — and not artificial intelligence.

(Courtesy The Authors Guild)

“It isn’t just to prevent fraud and deception,” said Douglas Preston, a bestselling novelist and nonfiction writer and member of the Authors Guild Council. “It’s also a declaration of how important storytelling is to who we are as a species. And we’re not going to let machines elbow us aside and pretend to be telling us stories, when it’s just regurgitating literary vomitus.”

This AI chatbot was ‘trained’ using my books, but don’t blame me for its incredible stupidity; Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2023

MICHAEL HILTZIK, Los Angeles Times; This AI chatbot was ‘trained’ using my books, but don’t blame me for its incredible stupidity

"Alex Reisner of the Atlantic compiled a handy search tool for the database, which is known as Books3, giving authors the world over an opportunity to hunt for their names and decide how to think about the results."

Copyright Office Launches Digitized Copyright Historical Record Books Collection; U.S. Copyright Office, February 7, 2022

U.S. Copyright Office; Copyright Office Launches Digitized Copyright Historical Record Books Collection

"The Copyright Office today launched the first release of the digitized Copyright Historical Record Books Collection. “The Copyright Office holds the world’s most comprehensive collection of records of copyright ownership,” said Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter. “Today’s release of the first batch of our digitized historical record books will ensure that these records are preserved for future research and that anyone can access them from anywhere.”

This collection is a preview of digitized versions of historical record books that the Office plans to incorporate into its Copyright Public Record System (CPRS), currently in public pilot. The collection will eventually include images of copyright applications and other records bound in books dating from 1870 to 1977. This first release includes 500 record books containing registration applications for books from 1969 to 1977, with a majority of the record books being the most recent volumes from 1975 to 1977. The collection is being digitized using the Copyright Office’s internal administrative classification system in reverse chronological order. There will be periodic updates as record books are digitized and added to the collection."

Democracy activists' books unavailable in Hong Kong libraries after new law; Reuters, July 5, 2020

Reuters; Democracy activists' books unavailable in Hong Kong libraries after new law

"Books by prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy figures have become unavailable in the Chinese-ruled city’s public libraries as they are being reviewed to see whether they violate a new national security law, a government department said on Sunday. 

The sweeping legislation, which came into force on Tuesday night at the same time its contents were published, punishes crimes related to secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with punishments of up to life in prison.

Hong Kong public libraries “will review whether certain books violate the stipulations of the National Security Law,” the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which runs the libraries, said in a statement.

“While legal advice will be sought in the process of the review, the books will not be available for borrowing and reference in libraries.""

So Much TV, Too Little IP Yields Writers Rich Rewards; Variety, January 31, 2019

Elaine Low, Variety; So Much TV, Too Little IP Yields Writers Rich Rewards

"The sheer volume of television out there is changing how precious intellectual property is foraged, acquired and ultimately used."

Washington signed into law the first copyright law; Daily Record, February 22, 2017

Daily Record; 

Washington signed into law the first copyright law

"On May 31, 1790, President Washington signed the Copyright Act of 1790 into law. ...[T]he legislation was the first law protecting copyright in the United States...

Copies of the law bearing Washington’s signature were re-printed in newspapers throughout the country."

In Book-Pricing Battle, How Low Can They Go?; New York Times, 10/21/09

Motoko Rich, New York Times; In Book-Pricing Battle, How Low Can They Go?:

"On Monday Target began offering customers who ordered any of six soon-to-be published books on its Web site the same $8.99 price that Wal-Mart has been offering since Friday for 10 titles on its Web site.

Wal-Mart.com had originally offered the books for $10, then dropped to $9 on Friday after Amazon.com had matched its $10 price. When Amazon also went to $9, Wal-Mart cut its price by just a penny. And sure enough, when Target.com, the newcomer to the price war, matched that $8.99 on six of the books, Wal-Mart responded on Tuesday by dropping its price on those books to $8.98."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/books/21price.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=motoko%20rich%20penny%20war&st=cse

Some Fear Google’s Power in Digital Books, The New York Times, 2/1/09

Via The New York Times: Some Fear Google’s Power in Digital Books:

"To Thomas Augst, an English professor at New York University who has studied the history of libraries, including those in the past that were run as businesses, what is significant is that the digitization of books is ending the distinction between circulating libraries, meant for public readers, and research libraries, meant for scholars. It’s not as if anyone from the public can walk into the Harvard library.

“A positive way to look at what Google is doing,” he said, “is that it is advancing the circulating of books and leveling these distinctions.”

In a final twist, however, the digital-rights class-action agreement has the potential to make physical libraries newly relevant. Each public library will have one computer with complete access to Google Book Search, a service that normally would come as part of a paid subscription.

One of Mr. Darnton’s concerns is that a single computer may not be enough to meet public demand. But Mr. Augst already can see a great benefit.

Google is “creating a new reason to go to public libraries, which I think is fantastic,” he said."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/technology/internet/02link.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=google%20book%20search&st=cse