Chinese Publisher's Warning Against AI 'Book Hunting' Highlights Global Copyright Void
汤俏：对AI“猎书”喊停是时代刚需
A Chinese publisher, Huaxia Publishing House, has added an unprecedented copyright notice to a new ancient-text publication, explicitly forbidding its use for AI training. The move, reported by Global Times, is framed as a pioneering stand by the publishing industry against the 'predatory extraction' of high-quality printed books by AI firms. The article details how companies have been buying and destroying physical books to scan them for training data, a practice it calls 'book hunting' or 'digital book burning,' while noting that existing legal frameworks, particularly overseas, fail to protect the data copyright of paper publications.
The view from inside
The Global Times opinion piece, authored by a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher, frames this as a defense of labor value and cultural heritage against unchecked technological expansion.
Free. The read from inside China is the part we ask you to sign in for.