Authors Alliance

Suno, Yout, Perplexity AI and §1201: AI Training and another piece of the DMCA “No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title.” 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1)(A) “a technological measure “effectively controls …

In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a spate of new developments in AI copyright lawsuits; a number of these cases raise DMCA §1201 circumvention claims, including most recently a suit brought by UMG Recordings against Suno, an AI music generation platform.

Big Ten Open Books: An Interview with Kate McCready (BTAA) and Charles Watkinson (UM) Authors Alliance has had a longstanding interest in helping authors see their older books reinvigorated with new life by making them available online for free on an open access basis. One of the mo…

One of the most exciting initiatives working on OA for backlist books is the Big Ten Open Books program. This post is based on a set of questions we posed to Kate McCready (BTAA) and Charles Watkinson (UM) about what the program is and how it works.

We're super excited about this ambitious project to map Diamond Open Access publishing across the United States. Congrats to @wearelyrasis.bsky.social, @bigtenacademic.bsky.social, and California Digital Library.

Join us and OCEAN this Friday, November 21 for "Creating with AI: Copyright Issues Related to Authorship, Authenticity, and Preservation for AI-assisted Works". We'll explore copyrightability and authorship of AI-assisted creative works.

www.oceancopyright.org/event-detail...

Cover for the book “Enshittification” by Cory Doctorow, featuring a poop emoji with symbols representing expletives. Text reads “Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It.”

🚨 Upcoming #booktalk! 🚨
#CoryDoctorow talks about his new book ENSHITTIFICATION & how the internet broke & how we can fix it. He explores why everything online feels worse & what we can do next.

📆 Fri Nov 21st
🕙 10 AM PT
📍 Online
🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-...

@AuthorsAlliance.bsky.social

Copyright Winter is Coming (to Wikipedia?) This is a guest post by Matthew Sag, Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science at Emory University Law School. It was originally posted here, a…

A new ruling in Authors Guild v. OpenAI has major implications for copyright law, well beyond artificial intelligence.

This is a guest post by @matthewsag.bsky.social, Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science at Emory University Law School

The Morisky Medical Adherence Scale: a case study in using flimsy copyright claims to inhibit research For anyone who is a regular reader of Retraction Watch, few things are more frustrating than seeing research retracted over copyright or licensing issues, since licensing has very little to do with…

Few things are more frustrating than seeing research retracted over copyright or licensing issues, especially when retractions are based on copyrights that don’t even exist. That’s the case with the Morisky Medical Adherence Scale (MMAS), which has triggered numerous retractions for unlicensed use.

Podcast cover for Episode #13 of 'Future Knowledge' titled 'Building and Preserving the Web.' The design features portraits of speakers Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Brewster Kahle. Surrounding them are collage-style retro-futuristic elements, including a classical statue head, a vintage computer with the word "NEW" on its screen, a modernist observation tower, and abstract architectural shapes. The title uses bold, blocky typography, giving the cover a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, & @BrewsterKahle chat with Wired’s @LaurenGoode.bsky.social on the Future Knowledge #podcast about the web’s rise, its impact, & why preserving it is vital for cultural history.

🎧 Listen & subscribe ⬇️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm/episodes/bui...

Open? When Site Restrictions and Clauses Undermine Open Access Open access publishing has transformed the way research circulates. In principle, open access means that anyone, anywhere, can read and reuse scholarly work without financial, legal, or technical b…

In principle, open access means that anyone, anywhere, can read and reuse scholarly work. In practice, many works labeled as “open” are constrained by restrictions that limit how they can be used. These constraints dilute the value of openness and conflict with its foundational definitions.

Podcast cover for Episode #12 of "Future Knowledge" titled "Wayback Machine at 1 Trillion." The design features the portrait of guest Mark Graham. Surrounding the portrait are collage-style retro-futuristic elements, including a classical statue head, a vintage computer with the word "NEW" on its screen, a modernist observation tower, and abstract architectural shapes. The title uses bold, blocky typography, giving the cover a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.

1 trillion web pages preserved. An audacious goal now reality.

Hear Mark Graham of the #WaybackMachine on how the #InternetArchive reached this milestone on the Future Knowledge #podcast.

🎧 Listen ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm/episodes/way...

#Wayback1T

On December 4th I'll be in conversation with @hjoseph.bsky.social about my new book Publishing Beyond the Market. Part of the @authorsalliance.bsky.social and @archive.org book talk series.

Register here:

www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-...

Upcoming Event (Tuesday, October 21 @ 11:00am ET): Public Access in Transition: Nelson Memo, Federal #Licensing, and the Future of Open Scholarship Details/Register Here: harvard.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #scholcomm #libraries #openscholarship @authorsalliance.bsky.social @sparcopen.bsky.social

How Can Libraries and Publishers Collaborate to Make Backlist Monographs Open Access? Join us in Charleston this November for a Preconference on making backlist monographs open access! Tuesday, November 4, 2025, 1pm-4pm ET Cost: $0 Presenters: Dave Hansen, Executive Director, Author…

Join us in Charleston on November 4 for our preconference, "How Can Libraries and Publishers Collaborate to Make Backlist Monographs Open Access?, which is free to attend through the support of the California Digital Library, the De Gruyter eBound Foundation, and University of Michigan Library.

Title slide with dark teal background. Main heading reads 'Navigating NIH's Revised Public Access Policy: On-the-Ground Experiences from Librarians and Researchers' in white text with a vertical yellow-green accent line on the left. Below are presenter names: Katie Fortney (California Digital Library), Tim Vollmer (UC Berkeley), and Anneliese Taylor (UCSF). At the bottom: 'SJSU Open Access Conference | October 21, 2025'

We’re happy to be joining the SJSU Open Access Virtual Conference to discuss how librarians and researchers are navigating the updated NIH Public Access Policy: scholarworks.sjsu.edu/oa-un-confer...

October 21, 2025. Free to register at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Podcast cover for Episode #11 of 'Future Knowledge' titled 'After Disruption.' The design features portraits of speakers Trevor Owens and Shannon Mattern. Surrounding them are collage-style retro-futuristic elements, including a classical statue head, a vintage computer with the word "NEW" on its screen, a modernist observation tower, and abstract architectural shapes. The title uses bold, blocky typography, giving the cover a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.

Libraries, archives & museums are under pressure, but cultural memory can survive.

Hear author @TJOwens.bsky.social of AFTER DISRUPTION: A FUTURE FOR CULTURAL MEMORY chat with @ShannonNattern.bsky.social on the Future Knowledge #podcast.

🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm

Institutional Repositories and AI Scraping We recently received a question regarding the AI scraping of Institutional Repositories, by which we mean online digital archives that provide access to the intellectual output of scholars, often a…

We recently received a question regarding the AI scraping of Institutional Repositories: (1) Do open access Institutional Repositories permit the use of the IR’s materials for AI training? and (2) Are there legal mechanisms that would prevent the use of IR materials in AI training?

In celebration of Open Access Week UNCW is hosting a talk from Eric Harbeson, Scholarly Publishing Legal Fellow at Authors Alliance, on changes to research funders' public access policies and how those changes interact with institutional and publisher policies. Join us!

uncw.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

AI, Authorship, and the Public Interest Grant Recipients We’re delighted to announce the five recipients of our AI, Authorship, and the Public Interest grant awards. Chosen from a competitive pool of over 160 proposals, these grantees stood out for their…

We’re delighted to announce the recipients of our AI, Authorship, and the Public Interest grant awards. Chosen from a competitive pool of over 160 proposals, these grantees stood out for their thoughtful, innovative projects that align with our mission to serve the public interest.

Part will also go to continued membership in @authorsalliance.bsky.social, who are fighting to ensure that our collective knowledge can be used fairly and for public benefit.

Authors Alliance Files Amicus Brief in Thomson Reuters v. Ross Yesterday Authors Alliance filed an amicus brief in Thomson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence, the long-running lawsuit between Thomson Reuters, owner of Westlaw (a legal research platform) and ROSS Int…

Yesterday we filed an amicus brief in Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence. Though the suit is different in many ways from other AI lawsuits, this one is significant because it is the first time a US Circuit Court will have the opportunity to directly address the applicability of fair use to AI training.

Cover of the book "Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture" by Jennifer Jenkins, featuring comicbook-style panels.

Podcast cover for Episode #10 of "Future Knowledge" titled "Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture." The design features portraits of the guests—Jennifer Jenkins & James Boyle—side by side. Surrounding them are collage-style retro-futuristic elements, including a classical statue head, a vintage computer with the word "NEW" on its screen, a modernist observation tower, and abstract architectural shapes. The title uses bold, blocky typography, giving the cover a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.

🎼 From sampling to streaming, copyright touches every part of modern music.

Jennifer Jenkins & James Boyle explore this & more in MUSIC COPYRIGHT, CREATIVITY, AND CULTURE on the Future Knowledge #podcast.

🎧 Listen to all episodes ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm

@authorsalliance.bsky.social

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: IMLS and DOE Policy Overview & FAQ Webcast. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. On October 1 at 2pm ET / 11am PT, SPARC and Authors Alliance will co-host a webcast providing an overview of the IMLS publication and data sharing policies and the Department of Energy’s data sharing ...

Tomorrow, Wed., Oct. 1, at 2 pm ET, tune into our free webcast about new publication and data sharing policies at IMLS & Dep.t of Energy. The event is co-hosted w/ @authorsalliance.bsky.social. Register now: sparcopen-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

CONTRACTUAL OVERRIDE | The Copyright Society How Private Contracts Undermine the Goals of the Copyright Act for Libraries and Researchers, and What We Can Do About It

Check out the article @rachaelgs.bsky.social wrote with
@authorsalliance.bsky.social. It explores how academic researchers & libraries are navigating private contracts that override key copyright exceptions meant to protect research, teaching, and innovation. copyrightsociety.org/journal-entr...

Upcoming Events | OCEAN

This fall semester, we and Open Copyright Education Advisory Network (OCEAN) are co-hosting a Discussion Series on AI and its implications professionals working in libraries, archives and museums and for authors, artists, scholars, researchers who work with them.

More info and registration here:

Bartz v Anthropic Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval – Key Takeaways On Thursday, Judge Alsup of the Northern District of California granted preliminary approval of a settlement in the class action lawsuit brought against Anthropic by three book authors whose books …

The Anthropic book settlement received preliminary approval from Judge Alsup last week, with some important new details addressed about how the $1.5 billion settlement will be divvied up among authors and publishers. This post highlights some key points.

Grid of promotional tiles for Future Knowledge podcast episodes one through nine.

🎙️ Have you listened to the Future Knowledge #podcast from #InternetArchive + @AuthorsAlliance.bsky.social ?

Catch up on past episodes & get ready for a new one this week!

🎧 Listen & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm

@Archive.org

Beyond the Exception: Licensing, Access, and the Realities of Text and Data Mining in the US, UK, and Singapore This is a post by Syn Ong, AI Policy Researcher at Authors Alliance. Authors increasingly rely on text and data mining (TDM) to analyze large corpora across disciplines. Our new working paper, Beyo…

Authors increasingly rely on text data mining to analyze large corpora. Our new working paper, "Beyond the Exception: Licensing, Access, and the Realities of Text and Data Mining in the US, UK, and Singapore", finds that formal legal permissions alone do not secure usable access for TDM research.

Podcast cover for Episode #10 of "Future Knowledge" titled "Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture." The design features portraits of the guests—Jennifer Jenkins & James Boyle—side by side. Surrounding them are collage-style retro-futuristic elements, including a classical statue head, a vintage computer with the word "NEW" on its screen, a modernist observation tower, and abstract architectural shapes. The title uses bold, blocky typography, giving the cover a vintage sci-fi aesthetic.

🎶 The music you love? Copyright shaped how it was written, recorded, shared, & remixed.

Jennifer Jenkins, author of MUSIC COPYRIGHT, CREATIVITY, AND CULTURE, joins James Boyle on the Future Knowledge #podcast to discuss.

🎧 Listen & subscribe ⤵️
futureknowledge.transistor.fm

@dukelaw.bsky.social

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: IMLS and DOE Policy Overview & FAQ Webcast. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. On October 1 at 2pm ET / 11am PT, SPARC and Authors Alliance will co-host a webcast providing an overview of the IMLS publication and data sharing policies and the Department of Energy’s data sharing ...

Next Wed., Oct. 1, at 2 pm ET, learn about IMLS publication & data sharing policies, plus info on the Dept. of Energy’s data sharing policy. We will co-host a webcast w/ @authorsalliance.bsky.social open to anyone working at academic institutions. Register now! sparcopen-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Can't make it to the live talk? Go ahead & register to receive a link to the recording!