deilibri

30/03/2026 · 20:08

Positive move on copyright & AI plans

The Government’s long-awaited report on copyright and AI has been published. For UK creators and the creative industries, it signals a win for all those who have campaigned and lobbied hard on this issue over the past year.

Entitled A Report on Copyright & Artificial Intelligence it’s a response to the Government’s consultation on copyright and AI which has rowed back from a copyright exception. This would see rightsholders have to opt-out of their work being used to train Large Language Models. This was the Government’s controversial preferred option when it launched the consultation in December 2024. The result was a massive outcry which united the creative industries and led to sustained campaigning from unions.

In response to this development, it was hailed by the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) General Secretary, Ellie Peers, as representing a ‘win for collective action’ and ‘a step in the right direction on the road to a fair system that will protect and reward writers and other creators in an age of Artificial Intelligence’. However, she admitted that there was much work that still needs to be done to strengthen, not weaken, UK copyright law.

Writers need certainty around protection of their work as a matter of urgency. They need to step up their campaigning and lobbying, writing to their MP, attending protests, making a noise on social media and more.

The Travelling Pineapple Hits Town

There is one stand I always head for when I enter the London Book Fair, even before I’ve registered. It’s to see the ever-smiling, friendly face, of Steve ‘Mr Pineapple’ Mathieu. This year, though, was an exception.

I met Mr P among the bustling crowds trying to exit Kensington Olympia Station – you can’t miss a bright yellow, bouncing pineapple, even in a crowd. This year there was to be no stand, festooned with pineapple decorations, as the ever increasing exhibitor costs has proved too much, but he was still on a mission.

However, our meeting was fortuitous, because Mr Pineapple had brought me a gift. It was a copy of his book Cultivate Your Seed for Greatness. Now I’d read this a couple of years back, but this is a completely revised edition building on his message to: ’embrace the role that’s been given to you in life and make it fruitfully bloom’.

This new edition is almost three times as long with more in-depth discussion and advice coupled with more illustrations. I confess to not having read this yet, but it’s a task I’m looking forward to. My picture shows my last view of Mr Pineapple as he heads into the fair to spread his message: ‘Don’t wait for life to change you, because life is the one waiting for you to change. Let the fruit speak.’

Bon Voyage Mr P.

Farewell to Olympia

Last week saw the London Book Fair bid adieu to Olympia, London.

Sadly this is the last LBF in this location as it moves to Excel in March 2027. A retrograde step in my view from a multi hall complex in Central London to a soul-less, characterless metal box located far out in the in the docklands. So it’s not surprising that many who have attended the Fairs over the year – visitors and exhibitors alike – will be feeling somewhat nostalgic. Personally I liked Earls Court.

Olympia has hosted more of the 54 book fairs than any other venue, but changes to the halls and reductions in space has meant some inconveniences. This year it was useful to find the Main Stage on one level with the Tech Centre and the Author Lounge right above, so there was a lot less dashing from one hall to the other side of the venue.

However, the LBF has always provided – and will continues to host – a wide range of book/publishing related events to tempt visitors. Whether it’s new titles – fiction and non-fiction, children’s, fascinating author interviews, author readings, audio books, illustration or celebrity guests, and of course AI.

The result from this year has been some very interesting, thought-provoking segments I’ll be covering over the next week or so. Above all the London Book Fair is all about books, reading, learning & enjoyment, but I for one will miss Olympia.