Author and New York Times contributing Opinion editor Julia Angwin has filed a class action lawsuit against Superhuman, the parent company of Grammarly, which in August released an AI feature that edited users’ work in the style of notable writers and editors. “Expert Review” name-checked writers including Stephen King, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Kara Swisher, and was developed without the creators’ knowledge or consent. (To add insult to injury, Angwin told Wired that the editing suggestions weren’t even good. “I was surprised at how bad it was,” she said.) “Contrary to the apparent belief of some tech companies, it is unlawful […]
AI
Eleven Labs to Produce AI-Narrated Audiobooks from Bookwire
Ebook distributor Bookwire and AI voice company Eleven Labs have partnered to create AI-narrated audiobooks for Bookwire’s publishing clients. The books will be available in the Eleven Reader app in more than a dozen languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Polish, French, and German. “At Bookwire, we are driven by one clear goal: to help publishers achieve maximum reach and success for their titles worldwide,” Bookwire co-founder and co-ceo John Ruhrmann said in a release. “Innovation and the intelligent use of new technologies are essential to that commitment. Through our partnership with ElevenLabs, publishers who choose this model can […]
SCOTUS Refuses Challenge to Human Authored Copyright Rule
On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear a case that challenged whether AI-created art could be copyrighted. Computer scientist Stephen Thaler sought to copyright a piece of art he created in 2018 with an AI program that he built. The Copyright Office declined his request for copyright in 2022, noting that AI-created work is not protected. Thaler brought the case to court. Now, the lower court’s decision stands, holding that copyright only applies to human-created art.
Authors Guild Officially Launches Human Authored Certification Program
The Authors Guild has officially launched its Human Authored certification program. The program, which was launched in beta for members in 2025, is now open to the public. Authors can register to use the Human Authored certification mark to distinguish their human-written books from AI-generated books. Certification costs $10 per book for non-Guild members and is free to members. Next week, the Guild will open the program up to U.S. publishers to purchase certifications in bulk. “The overwhelming response from authors has validated our belief that transparency in authorship is not just desired—it’s essential,” said Rasenberger. “By opening this program to all authors nationwide, we’re empowering […]
CCC Launches New AI Licensing Options; Pan Macmillan to Train Employees in AI
The Copyright Clearance Center will launch collective and pay-per-use licensing options, focused on higher ed customers, in addition to the two non-exclusive licensing options it already offers. In the CCC’s Annual Copyright License for Higher Education, college and university users can license “internal-only AI re-use rights for text-based works from participating rightsholders,” to be used for tools including prompts, summaries, and chatbots. AI Transactional Rights will allow licensing for “specific AI use cases, beginning with content summarization.” “CCC is pro-copyright and pro-AI,” CCC president and ceo Tracey Armstrong said in a release. “AI outcomes are strengthened by reliance on responsibly sourced […]
Bipartisan CLEAR Act Would Require Transparency of AI Training Material
Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT) have introduced a bill that would require tech companies to submit a list of the copyrighted works used to create AI products to the register of copyrights. The Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act or ‘‘CLEAR Act” would require companies to submit “a sufficiently detailed summary of each copyrighted work in the training dataset” 30 or more days before a generative AI product is released. The bill would also be retroactive to any products available before the bill is enacted. If a company violates the act, they would be subject to a […]