Philippa Wain

Independent booksellers in the UK and elsewhere are reporting unusually large and varied purchases of secondhand books, apparently destined for industrial scanning and possible use in AI training. The trend gained attention after a US court ruled that Anthropic’s use of purchased books to train Claude was permissible under US copyright law, while court documents revealed that books were destroyed during the digitisation process. Anthropic says its approach is common across the AI industry and denies buying rare or antiquarian books for destruction. Booksellers and experts remain divided: recycling unwanted mass-market books can revive trade, but destroying rare works raises serious cultural and ethical concerns. UK copyright rules generally require permission for copying and AI training, making the legal position different from that in the US.

Independent booksellers in the UK and elsewhere are reporting unusually large and unpredictable orders for secondhand books, raising suspicions that the volumes are being purchased for AI training rather than reading. The possibility gained attention after US court documents showed Anthropic acquired and destructively scanned books for its Claude chatbot, with a judge ruling that using the books to train AI was permissible under US copyright law. Booksellers and experts are concerned about rare or historically significant works being destroyed, while noting that recycling surplus copies of mass-market titles could benefit the trade. The issue also highlights a major contrast between US and UK copyright rules, since UK law generally requires copyright-owner permission for copying used in AI training.