With the advancement and increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) in the production of book cover artwork and in the writing of manuscripts, we now have to screen the books submitted to BookMojo for feature or promotion. BookMojo can not and will not promote a book we know is or may be violating a copyright or a trademark. Generative AI puts both of those at risk. Generative AI compiles previously “learned” data into content. That data “learning” is done through the program’s consumption of free use and copyrighted artwork, images, film, books, newspaper articles, blog posts, social media, literally anything on the internet, etc.. Regardless of medium, the generative AI result is not an original work, nor is it recognized as such by the United States Copyright Office or the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
BookMojo does not and will never use generative AI for any of our services. Not images for promotional use, paid ads, or book covers, and not for any copywriting such as blurb retooling, newsletter management, or website construction.
Due to these changes in the creative marketplace, the following are prohibited from BookMojo services, promotions, and events:
⛔ Book covers which utilize generative AI images in whole or in part. As mentioned, these images are created using the data from the original artwork or photographs of others. Despite the continued insistence from the pro AI voices that this is not the case, generative AI images have been and continue to be churned out containing protective watermarks from original artists and images that can be easily identified as protected works using an image search or live human eyeballs.
⛔ Book covers using an unlicensed trademarked likeness, logo, or design. The only reason one files a trademark is for the legal right to protect their work against use. The company that owns the protected item can and will file a lawsuit against anyone violating the trademark. If there is a protected likeness, logo, or design on a book cover and the author did not pay the trademark owner to license the rights to use said protected work, the author is leaving themselves wide open for a lawsuit that they would absolutely lose.
⛔ Book covers using an unlicensed celebrity image or likeness. It is not legal to use the image of a celebrity without paying for a license, whether it’s taken from a search engine or created using generative AI. In the publishing business, an author’s books are their product. In their business, the celebrity’s face is their product. It’s why celebrities get paid for product endorsements. By using a celebrity’s likeness on a book cover or in an advertisement for the sale of a book without paying for the necessary licensing to do so, the author in question is stealing from that celebrity and is left wide open for a lawsuit they would absolutely lose.
⛔ Books written using any software that creates content for you by utilizing generative AI. This policy does not include manuscripts written using assistive machine learning (standard tools such as spell check or grammar check) or a hired ghostwriter. Neither of those are the same thing as generative AI.
More Information Regarding Protected Works
BookMojo is 100% against piracy of any kind and has a zero-tolerance policy on the subject. BookMojo does not ever sell, rent, share, or otherwise distribute an author’s book without their permission. The books found on the BookMojo website are not live downloads, they are links to retailers, downloads, or direct sales product pages on an author’s website.
Generative AI Policy FAQs
I have a cover featuring generative AI and was accepted for promotions previously. Will my book still be accepted for promotions?
Any books with generative AI covers that were accepted for a newsletter feature or a promotion prior to the date of this official policy announcement but the feature or promotion hasn’t run yet are “grandfathered in” but no additional generative AI covers will be accepted going forward.
I wrote my book using generative AI and was accepted for promotions previously. Will my book still be accepted for promotions?
To our knowledge, BookMojo has never featured or promoted a book written with generative AI, and we will not knowingly do so going forward.
What happens if I purchased a service after July 5, 2024 and my book cover is made containing generative AI content?
BookMojo will reach out to the author to let them know why we have to reject the book and a refund for the service will be issued.
How does BookMojo determine if a cover contains generative AI?
There are lots of tell tale signs of generative AI in cover art. BookMojo rejects only those covers we are just about certain are generative AI. If rejected, the author in question will be provided additional details to cite our reasoning. We are not experts and may have identified the image as generative AI in error. In that rejection email, we let the author know that they are welcome to provide proof of image origins if the image is not generative AI. This is where most authors drop the conversation and move on with their day. However, there are others. Those few choose to start email-screaming at the BookMojo mailbox. Please know that BookMojo will not engage with individuals who come at the problem this way. If the author’s image is not generative AI, we do understand the frustration in having to prove that out. It’s your legitimate cover artist and the price you paid for their talents that we’re trying to protect. Simply send along the proof requested and I assure you, we will feel horrible and will apologize profusely. If the image is generative AI, just skip the email-screaming. It’s time that the author would be better off having spent writing their next novel because we’re not going to reply to rude or argumentative emails that do nothing to move the conversation forward in a productive manner. The email gets filed for documentation purposes and then we never look at it again.