The Use of OpenAI: Protecting Your Work

Artificial intelligence is all around us, and it seems is here to stay. That's a terrifying thought for artists and writers who rely on their talents for income. It seems anyone can use OpenAI to not only write a book after entering a few prompts, but they can also lift—unwittingly or purposefully—words authors have written that are available online.

Recently, a New York federal judge ruled in favor of the Authors Guild and a number of authors, including George R.R. Martin, in a consolidated lawsuit and denied OpenAI's request to dismiss authors' claims that text generated by OpenAI's ChatGPT infringes their copyrights. In the October 28 ruling, the judge compared Martin's book Game of Thrones to summaries created by ChatGPT and found that it was "substantially similar to Martin's original work."

But this battle for creative rights is just beginning, and authors need to be prepared to protect their work from legal battle. So how can you protect your work from being lifted by ne'er-do-wells in AI platforms to produce a book under their names? Well, here are few suggestions:

1. Copyright your finished work. Your work is automatically copyrighted once completed in a tangible medium. Use the copyright symbol ©, the year of first publication, and the copyright holder's name on the copyright page to establish clear ownership.

2. Register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office to create a public record of ownership and provide the legal standing to sue for infringement.

3. Monitor for infringement: Regularly search online for unauthorized distribution of the book, such as illegal downloads of PDFs or other derivative works.

Lucky Dog Press will always make you the owner of your book once it's complete. We can also work with you to register your book with the U.S. Copyright Office. Once your work is published, you are encouraged to keep tabs on your published work, making sure no other such work with eerily similar content is online without your consent. You can do a simple copy and paste of a chapter into your preferred browser to see what content might surface, either a knock-off of your book or an unknown vendor selling your book as a PDF. Keep in mind that this is different than random vendors selling actual copies of your book. Lots of small businesses and individuals buy used or overstocked books and resell them online. They are not copying your work.

And for any potential clients who have used AI to write their chapters, Lucky Dog Press will kindly decline publication assistance. We value original words and ideas and want to work for those who do not steal from others. As always, your words matter. Let's keep them safe.