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Is it legal to train AI models on copyrighted books? It’s complicated

TechCrunchSunday, August 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM

RedScroll Brief

Most published authors have, without their knowledge or consent, contributed to the development of the same AI tools that threaten to undermine their livelihoods. That seems illegal, right?

RedScroll Signal

Impact
High
Category
Technology
Market relevance
Moderate
Why it matters
Technology shifts change how people work, communicate, and build — often faster than policy can follow. Most published authors have, without their knowledge or consent, contributed to the development of the same AI tools that threaten to undermine their livelihoods. That seems illegal, right? Secondary effects may show up in markets and supply chains linked to Technology.

Desk copy

RedScroll Briefing

Extractive editorial brief — not a reprint of the original

What happened

Most published authors have, without their knowledge or consent, contributed to the development of the same AI tools that threaten to undermine their livelihoods. That seems illegal, right?

Why it matters

Technology shifts change how people work, communicate, and build — often faster than policy can follow.

Background

TechCrunch reported on this under technology. RedScroll surfaces the signal with an extractive brief — not a reprint of the original article. Read the source for full reporting.

Timeline

  1. TechCrunch published: Is it legal to train AI models on copyrighted books? It’s complicated

  2. Story is in today’s RedScroll edition. Follow the original source for updates.

Economic impact

Secondary effects may show up in markets and supply chains linked to Technology.

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Source

TechCrunch

Original reporting by TechCrunch. RedScroll provides an extractive briefing only.