TORONTO, ONTARIO — The Canadian Publishers’ Council (CPC) today announced it has joined the growing list of signatories for an important AI Policy Signature campaign, launched by the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and key partner organizations, to urge lawmakers to curb the unfair use of copyrighted material for training Generative AI models.
The key message of the campaign, which has garnered over 11,000 signatures to date, is that “the unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.”
“The CPC and its sister organizations in the cultural sector in Canada have been urging the Federal government to consider critical modifications to copyright law that will place strict requirements on Generative AI models for their use of copyright-protected material. To date, vast quantities of copyright-protected materials have been used without compensation by AI engines, and the practice continues to pose a significant threat to the livelihoods of creators throughout the world,” said CPC President David Swail.
CPC is encouraging creators and publishers from across the cultural sector to add their voices to this important campaign. A link to the campaign site can be found at https://www.aitrainingstatement.org.
For more information, contact David Swail, dswail@pubcouncil.ca.
About the Canadian Publishers’ Council
The Canadian Publishers’ Council, as Canada’s main English-language book publishing trade association, represents the interests of publishing companies that publish books and other media for elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, professional and reference markets, the retail and library sectors. Founded in 1910, its members employ more than 2,800 Canadians, collectively account for nearly three-quarters of all domestic sales of English-language books and pay more than $25 million in royalties to Canada’s writers.