Author plaintiffs Michael Chabon, Ayelet Waldman, David Henry Wang, Matthew Klam and Rachel Louise Snyder are the latest to file suit against OpenAI in Federal Court in California’s Northern District for San Francisco, seeking class action status “arising from OpenAI’s clear infringement of their intellectual property.” The suit is substantially similar to ones filed earlier this summer — first by named plaintiffs Paul Tremblay and Mona Awad, and then by lead plaintiffs Sarah Silverman, Christopher Golden, and Richard Kadrey. (The latter filed a separate suit against Meta for their AI training.) Both of the earlier suits were brought by the […]
Internet Archive Appeals Their Big Loss
Following US District Court Judge John Koeltl’s clear, unequivocal and overwhelming finding the Internet Archive guilty of “wholesale copying and unauthorized lending” of publishers’ books, the IA filed notice of appeal on the inauspicious day of Monday, September 11. Judge Koeltl’s ruling was deeply rooted in Second Circuit precedent, including multiple cases already adjudicated by the Second Circuit of Appeals, which has made crystal clear that there is no digital first sale doctrine. Internet Archive director of library services Chris Freeland admits in a posted statement, “We know this won’t be easy.” And he reasserts one of their core arguments […]
CorreX In Real Time
The pre-publication rollout of Walter Isaacson’s Tuesday release ELON MUSK took an unexpected turn after a sensational disclosure in one excerpt in the Washington Post was refuted by Musk himself and then corrected by Isaacson. Isaacson billed the excerpt as “the inside story of how Musk used Starlink to help Ukraine, then pulled back one tense Friday night.” In the incident in question, “The Ukrainian military was attempting a sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet based at Sevastopol in Crimea by sending six small drone submarines packed with explosives, and it was using Starlink to guide them to the […]
An Exclusive Britney Spears Excerpt
The fall release schedule is packed, including celebrity memoirs spanning the wide range from Britney Spears (The Woman In Me; 10/24) to former Macmillan Publishers ceo John Sargent (Turning Pages; 9/19). Below, we bring those two together in a pre-publication excerpt. The book is told in Sargent’s inimitable voice, with stories from his unusual childhood, adventures and misadventures on the slopes and in the surf, and a number of publishing tales — from indelible personalities and notable authors to battles over agency ebook pricing, the publication of FIRE AND FURY and, ultimately, his own job. The chapter on the latter […]
New KDP Guidelines Require Participants to Acknowledge AI-Generated Content
Amazon revised their KDP publishing content guidelines recently to add a section that requires participants to indicate when they have used AI tools to create elements of any submitted book. The service distinguishes between “AI-assisted” work — which does not need to be disclosed — and “AI-generated content,” which does need to be acknowledged. They “define AI-generated content as text, images, or translations created by an AI-based tool. If you used an AI-based tool to create the actual content (whether text, images, or translations), it is considered ‘AI-generated,’ even if you applied substantial edits afterwards.” In contrast, AI-assisted work is […]
Spotify Readies Offer of Free Audiobooks for Subscribers
Spotify has been talking a big audiobook game for a while without really doing anything. Now, the WSJ reports, “Spotify plans to test a free audiobook bundle for its paying subscribers in the coming months.” Sources tell the WSJ the pilot program “would allow subscribers to listen to up to 20 hours of audiobooks a month at no additional cost.” Titles and compensation remain unclear: “The scope of titles available through the program is expected to be broad, but is still being finalized.” It’s expected to be a limited-time offer that will “likely” be made in English-speaking countries, including the […]