AI · SEMICONDUCTOR · FACT CHECK
SKD WIRETrue
Over 120 publishing companies have signed a joint appeal demanding that AI developers disclose which copyrighted works were used to train their models, in a statement issued in connection with the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The appeal, known as the "Frankfurter Appell," calls on AI companies to reveal the source materials behind their large language models and to respect the rights of authors and publishers whose works are used without permission.
The statement was circulated in connection with the Frankfurt Book Fair, according to the book fair's official press materials. The demand centers on transparency: publishers say they have a right to know whether their catalogues were ingested into AI training datasets.
Signatories span more than 120 publishing houses, indicating broad industry backing for the initiative across the publishing sector. The appeal reflects growing friction between the publishing world and AI developers over the use of copyrighted books as training material for generative AI systems.
The cross-confirmation of the statement rests on the original text of the appeal and two independent sources — a news agency report and a public broadcaster report — as well as the book fair's official press release. Direct access to the appeal's own website was blocked by a captcha, though a publicly archived cache of the page is available.
Details on potential legal follow-up or negotiations with AI companies remain unclear at this time.
Verdict: True
