Penguin Random House is adding an AI warning to its books’ copyright pages

Penguin Random House, the trade publisher, is adding language to the copyright pages of its books to prohibit the use of those books to train AI.

The Bookseller reports that new books and reprints of older titles from the publisher will now include the statement, “No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.”

While the use of copyrighted material to train AI models is currently being fought over in multiple lawsuits, Penguin Random House appears to be the first major publisher to update its copyright pages to reflect these new concerns.

The update doesn’t mean Penguin Random House is completely opposed to the use of AI in book publishing. In August, it outlined an initial approach to generative AI, saying it will “vigorously defend the intellectual property that belongs to our authors and artists” while also promising to “use generative AI tools selectively and responsibly, where we see a clear case that they can advance our goals.”