This past year, Authors Alliance continued to work to ensure that the voices of authors who write to advance the public good were heard in debates over laws, policies, and practices that affect the ways that authors reach their audiences. We created resources to help researchers navigate new federal public access policies. We hosted over 50 events, educational webinars, and workshops reaching tens of thousands of authors. And, we submitted multiple amicus briefs to the courts to help them better understand issues ranging from the scope of fair use to who represents authors in court in class action litigation.
This past year was dominated by AI. We saw a blockbuster $1.5 billion settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic, the attempted firing of Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter, and 20 new copyright AI lawsuits filed in the US—bringing the total to 59. As authors look on, it’s easy to become disillusioned with what seems like a battle between big technology and big content industry firms fighting over who gets to profit most. We believe that this new technology can have a positive impact on research and authorship, but we need to fight for it. This is why we’ve devoted so much effort to better understanding some of the most challenging AI copyright issues presented by AI through our “AI, Authorship and the Public Interest” project, as well as to moving toward actually building an AI training corpus of books that serves the public rather than corporate interests, through the “Public Interest Corpus” project.
On this Giving Tuesday, we ask that you help us provide another year of services, resources, and advocacy. Your donation will help us continue to develop educational materials and advocate for authors who write to be read. With 2026 right around the corner, consider making a tax-deductible donation to help Authors Alliance continue to advocate on behalf of authors who want to be read in the new year. We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to work with you all in the next year!
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