VIKKI PATIS

This is the collection of signatures on an open letter in response to Meta’s alleged use of pirated material to train its AI.

The open letter is now closed to signatures. Please sign the petition organised by the Society of Authors here.

In light of the recent revelation that Meta allegedly used millions of pirated books to train its AI, we are writing to express our deep concern about this unfair and unauthorised use of our copyrighted material.

On 20th March 2025, The Atlantic reported that Meta accessed Library Genesis (LibGen) and downloaded pirated versions of books and papers in order to train its AI. As per the Society of Authors report on protecting copyright for creatives, ‘the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides economic and moral rights to authors whereby an author’s work cannot be used without their consent’.

These actions affect creatives across multiple industries, and should be condemned unequivocally at all levels. This is no longer a discussion about whether AI should be supported; this is a legal issue pertaining to the alleged use of unlawfully downloaded material which cannot be removed from AI systems once it has been used.

With author earnings at an all time low, it is reprehensible that multi-billion dollar companies could profit from the theft of our work.

We are therefore asking for the following:

— the removal of unlicensed material from databases such as Library Genesis, backed by government/legal intervention if necessary

— fair compensation for the unlawful download and use of copyrighted material, plus damages

— legal and financial consequences for any unlawful distribution of such material, with per use damages paid to the creator, if proven to have taken place

We also ask that the UK government commits to supporting creatives by refusing access to copyrighted material without explicit consent and fair compensation, and full transparency on data sources. We call upon our unions, organisations, publishers, literary agents, and other publishing professionals to support our plea in holding Meta and other companies to account, upholding and strengthening copyright law, and ensuring creatives are recompensed for the unauthorised use of our work.

Signed,

Vikki Patis/Victoria Hawthorne, author

Olivia Q. Pintair, writer

Sharon Booth, author

Stephen Cox, novelist and other fiction

Claire Allan, author

Gabrielle Storey, historian/writer

Diane Wordsworth, writer

Marianne Holmes, author

Kate Kenzie, author

Louise Kenward, author

Jenny Blackhurst, author

Zoé O’Farrell, author/book tour organiser

Sarah Lawton, author

Louise Jensen, author

Anne Coates, author

Niamh Boyce, author

Nicky Downes, author

Barbara Copperthwaite/Barbara Havelock, author

Carla Buckley (Carla Kovach), author

Hilary Tailor, author

Molly Aitken, author

Hanna Jameson, author

Kate Morrison, author

Philippa East, author

Andreina Cordani, author

Karen King, author

Carol McKay, author

Louise Hare, author

April Doyle, writer

Kirsten Hesketh, writer

Rowan Coleman, author

Lisa Sell, author

Kate Ryder, author

Vanessa Holborn, author

Sophia Spiers, author

Sophie Flynn, author

Jodie Robins, author

E.C. Scullion/Emma Rae, author

Betsy Tobin, author

Paula Knight, author

Holly Stars, author

Ian Halverson, author

Caroline Bishop, author

Naomi Kelsey, author

Lucy Nichol (aka Lucy Roth), author

Sara Jafari, author

Anna Bailey, author

Claire Stibbe, author

Robin Burks, author

Anastasia Gammon, writer

Louise Fein, author

Jack Strange, author

J.A. Ironside, author

Clare Flynn, author

Anna P. Read, writer

Nuala Ellwood (Iris Costello), author

Anna Britton, author

Adrienne Chinn, author

Sharon Bairden, writer

Kathleen McGurl, novelist

Jennifer Joyce, writer

Rachel Rowlands, author

Amy B Garratt, poet/indie author

Claire Seeber, author

Elisabeth Carpenter, author

Susan Buchanan, author

Helen Cannam, author

Jeanette Woodall (writing as Victoria Howard), author

Luisa A Jones, author

Jodie Matthews, author

Angela Pearse, author

Casey Kelleher, author

Pamela Brooks, author

Charlotte Duckworth, author

Clare Rhoden, author

Eris Young, author

Clare Chase, author

Essie Fox, author

A.J Roberts, writer

Kiltie Jackson, author

Morgana Bourggraff, author

Clare Marchant, author

Alice McVeigh, author

Vivien Brown, author

Joanna Pritchard (Carrie Walker), author

Linda Huber, author

Laura E James, author

Erin Young/Robyn Young, author

Harriet Springbett, author

Stephen Edger/M.A. Hunter, author

Dawn Finch, author

Alyson Hilbourne, writer

C. S. Woolley, author

Amanda Kai, author

Ann Crowley, author

Jan Baynham, author

Sarah Williams (Lily Joseph), author

Lucy Vine, author

Penny Hampson, author

Courtney M. Privett, author

Lucy Rose, author

Leah Pruett (MJ Stratton), author

Coral McCallum, author

Suzie Tullett, author

Nikky Lee, author

Marion Todd, author

Gary Kruse, author

Philippa Carey, author

Lucy Coats, author

Melissa Anne, author

Julie Phillips, author

AnneMarie Brear, author

Laura Gomez, author

Jessica Taylor, illustrator

David Cleden, author

Claire Handscombe, author

Jonathan Campion, author

Alexander Christie-Miller, author

Eleni Kyriacou, author

Lisa Timoney (Kate Storey, Naomi Williams), author

Nicole Bond, writer

Shannon Winslow, author

Douglas Van Dyke Jr, author

Matthew Minarchek, partner development lead

S. Neha, author

Sandy Frediani, author

Seána Talbot, author

Paula Johanson, writer and editor

Katherine Dyson, author

Vicki Beeby, author

Penny Batchelor, novelist

Michelle Davies, author

Tor Udall, author

Hayley Dunlop, author

Hazel Mary Martell, author

Megan Eaves, author

Bali Rai, author

Sara Marks, author

Dave Sivers, author

Paul Gitsham, author

Labara Kendig, author

Shalini Boland, author

Suzan Lander/Carol S. Roberts, author

Charlene Mattson, author

Marian Womack, author

Elizabeth Davies, author

Christie J. Newport, author

Rosie Walker, author and editor

Beth Morrey, author

Jeevani Charika, author

Jackie Wesley (Jo Wesley/Sharley Scott), author

Kate Ginger, author

Trevor Wood, author

Tanith Davenport, author

Mary Hoffman, writer

Sally-Anne Martyn, author

Kate Kelly, author

Jody Cooksley, author

Niki Mackay, author

Kerry Barnes, author

Julia Boggio, story creator

Harry Frost, narrator

Liz Fenwick, author

Karen Inglis, author

Belinda E Edwards, author

Carol Cooper, author and journalist

Liza Perrat, author

Heather J Fitt, author

Vanessa Morgan, non-fiction history writer

Jeanette Everson (writing as Jinny Alexander), author

Ritu Bathal, author

Mark A. Latham, writer

A.F. Harrold, poet and children’s author

Dawn McLachlan, poet

Katie Anderson-Morrison, writer

Suzy Aspley, author

Alistair Birch, author

L. E. Usher, author

Paulina Pejka, writer

Jan Jones, author

Emma Davies, writer

Cass Grafton, author

Sandra Platt, author

Louise Beech/Louise Swanson, writer

Julia Day, author

Caroline Lea, writer

Gabrielle Griffiths, author

Alison Stockham, author

Terri Nixon/R.D. Nixon, author

Katherine Hetzel, author

R J Frith, writer

Marot Kinberg, author

Conrad Jones, author

Charlotte Betts, author

Sharon Thompson, writer

Tiffany Thomas, author

Susanne O’Leary, author

E A Batten, writer

Brooke Venables (Jamie-Lee Brooke), author

Liz Mistry, author

Anne Roberts, author/writer

Shafik Meghji, writer

Kitty Wilson (L Kenton-Weeks), author

Richard Robinson, author

Anne Hewling, writer/author/reader

Sarah Tierney, author

Christina Cox, writing student

Kingsley Pearson, author & clinical psychologist

Roberta Grieve, author

T.A. Belshaw, author

Elin Eriksen, author

Kelly Young, author

Jane Bettany, author

Fliss Chester, author

Nicole Kennedy, writer

Christina Moore/Christine Combe, author

Paul McDermott, author

John R Lovell, author

Jo Lovett/Sophia Williams, author

Lynna Nazareth writing as Lynne Francis, author

David Gilchrist, writer

Kerry Fisher, author

Isabelle Broom, author

Alison May, author

Chris McDonald, author

David Fenne, author

Adrienne Chinn, author

Gareth Russell, author

Helen Yendall, author

Alison Belsham, author

Sunitha Thind, author/writer

Catherine Wade writing as Kate Walker, author

Miriam Landor, writer

Melanie Robertson-King, author

Gill Thompson, author (Royal Literary Fund Fellow, Chichester University)

Penny Joelson, author

Susan Fenwick, writer

Charlotte Leonard, author

S.D. Robertson, author

Jackson van Uden, author and historian

Tara Lyons, author

Sam Smith, BD

Beth Reid,writer

Rebecca Raisin, author

Cat Connor, author

Mark Tilbury, author

Adam Farrer, author

Natalie Meg Evans, author

Laura Wilkinson, author

Anna Cummins (writes as Anna Bell), author

Louise Mumford, author

Susie Bower, writer/author

Bridget Walsh, writer

Anne Wyn Clark/E A Clark, author

James Marx, writer

A. A. Chaudhuri, author

Rachel Delahaye Lefever, author

Victoria M. Adams, author

Lou Abercrombie, author

Sharon Maas, author

Rachel Ward, author

Eibhlís Carcione, writer

Madeline Claire Franklin, author

Jess Bradley, writer/illustrator

Hilary Ayshford, writer

Lucy Vine, author

Tabitha Potts, writer

Jenny Worstall, author

Phil Harrison, author and journalist

Rob Bagchi, author

Mike McCahill, journalist

Tom Mead, author

Elizabeth Train-Brown, author

Imogen Clark, author

Ruby Moone/Felicity York, author

Clare Swatman, author

Amanda James, writer

Nikki Dudley, author

Sarah Hardstaff, academic

Lesley Curwen, writer

David McGuinness, university profesor

Teresa Driscoll, author

Rebecca Mascull/Mollie Walton/Harper Ford, author

Doug Sinclair, author

Karin Nordin, author

Vivien Brown, author

Michał Kamil Piotrowski, writer/poet

Jane Lovering, author

Sheila Crosby, author

Julia-Ann Corrigan, author

Sarra Manning, author

Helena Dixon, author

Charlotte Stevenson, author

Alison Irving, author

Venesha, author

Fiona Leith, author

Rob Harris, author

Sheila Riley, author

Nicola Pryce, author

Alan Feldberg, author/journalist

Claire Fuller, writer

Susan Matthews, author

Jennie Walters, author

Belinda Missen, author

Jane Risdon, author/blogger

H. S. Norup, author

Imogen Matthews, author

Viviana Fiorentino, writer

Donna Ashcroft, author

Lorna Peel, author

Bella Osborne, author

Rose Wilding, author

Karen Clarke, author

Brit Pfluger, author

Alice May/Alice G May/A G May, author

Jodi Carmichael, author

Tanith Davenport, writer

Heather Child, author

Rachel Hore, author

Claire McCauley, author

Simon Whaley, author/writer/photographer

Sarah Hagger-Holt, author

Mina Ikemoto Ghosh, author

Barbara Gliver, author/writer

Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, author

Susan C Wilson, author

David Fallon, academic

Bethany Tolson, author

Antonia Maxwell, author

Angela Kecojevic, author

Pat Black, author

Kirsten, academic

Cordelia Fine, author and academic

Susan Stokes-Chapman, author

Ciara Geraghty, author

Damien Lewis, author

Julie Dando, publisher

Marc Dando, illustrator

Rhona Snelling, educational author

Jean Fullerton, author

Miranda Dickinson/MJ White, author

Clare Press, author

Penny Hampson, author

Sohame, 3D character artist and hobbyist writer

Samantha Tonge, author

Sheila Riley, author

Linda McEvoy, writer

Pauline Tait, author

Hannah Beckerman, novelist and journalist

RB Kelly, author

Sarah Bonner, author

Julia Vince (writes as Julia Wild), writer

Judy Garton-Sprenger, author

Sir David Haslam, author

Louise Carey, author

Jamal Mahjoub, author

Parker Bilal, author

M. R. Armitage, author

Jonny Benjamin, author

Tim Lebbon, writer

Sharon Birch, author

Carol Townend, author

Amanda Addison, author

Anna Davidson/A. K. Davidson, writer

Ritu Bhathal, author

Lisa Chalmers, author

Annie Murray Abi Oliver,author

Alys Conran, author

Leslie Wilson, author

S. E. Granger, writer

Sarah Pfatteicher, non-profit administrator and author

Stanlegh Meresith, author

Sarah Freethy, writer

Amanda Lees, author

Rachel McDonald (Rachel Fallon), author

Juliette Lachemeier, managing editor

Hazel Gaynor, author

Annie Lyons, author

Teresa K. Attwood, author/scientist

Maisie Chan, author

Karen Moore, writer

Suzanne Adair, author

Catherine Dellosa, author

Rosie Wilby, author

Tania Tay/Crystal Sung, author

Sojung Kim-McCarty, author/illustrator

A. Y. Chao, author

Maria Cristina Gourlay (Candy Gourlay), author

Linda Green, author

Georgina Kamsika, author

Jeff Salter, author

Mary Cooke, writer

Jean Gill, author

Faith Bleasdale, author

Carmel Harrington, author

Ellen Hawley, author

Anna Fleming, author

Laura Barnett, author

Amanda Sutliff, indie author and librarian

Sue Moorcroft, author

Alice McIlroy, author

Cherry Potts, managing director (Arachne Press Limited), editor, and author

David John Griffin, author

Anna Fargher, author

Thomas Penn, author/historian

Amber Caraveo, literary agent

Liz Harris, author

Ian Pattison, writer/author

Glynis Smy (Glynis Peters/Amber Raven), author

Patrick Gale, novelist/playwright/screenwriter

Jane Flett, author

Christina McDonald, author

Sarah Cass, author

T.J. Masters, author

Mez Packer, author

Benita Cullingford, vice president/hon treasurer SWWJ/author/screenwriter

Babs Wilkie, book blogger

John Wagstaff, retired lawyer/reader

Michael Packman, writer

Jane Rusbridge, writer

Nikki Dudley, author

Marianna, author/actress/director

Tim Tate, author

Marsali Taylor, author

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