Thousands of British authors published an empty book in support of copyright
Around 10,000 writers from the United Kingdom, including Kazuo Ishiguro and Philippa Gregory, organized a large-scale campaign to defend intellectual property rights. They published a book titled “Don’t Steal This Book,” which consists solely of a list of the names of the participating authors.
The goal of the project is to initiate a public dialogue about the rules for using literary works in the training of artificial intelligence (AI). Authors are concerned that neural networks use their works without the direct consent of the creators. Writers are advocating for transparent mechanisms of cooperation with technology companies and for maintaining a balance of interests in the digital environment.
The campaign was prompted by proposed amendments to British legislation. The suggested changes could simplify access for AI companies to copyrighted materials if the author has not explicitly expressed disagreement. The creative community insists on the need for stronger protection of intellectual labor at the state level.
The issue of AI regulation has already moved into the legal sphere. For example, in 2025, the American company Anthropic paid 1.5 billion dollars to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by authors. The “empty book” campaign became an important signal that the development of innovation should be accompanied by the creation of a clear legal framework that takes into account the interests of all market participants.
ORIENT
