Canada’s Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is limiting International Standard Book Number (ISBN) allocations for books made mainly with artificial intelligence, setting conditions as copyright questions remain under consideration.
The agency’s guidance, dated Oct. 9, 2026, requires publishers registering through ISBN Canada to declare that a publication was written by a human author. It permits AI for idea generation and routine tasks such as grammar review and formatting.
The limit applies when a work’s text, illustrations or translations are primarily generated by AI. LAC does not publish a numerical quota or describe a separate AI verification process. Its general ISBN terms allow it to request supporting documents, audit use and deny or reduce requests if usage suggests misuse. Those general powers are not presented as an AI-specific penalty.
The guidance conditions access to identifiers without making every AI-assisted book ineligible. LAC describes an ISBN as a code that distinguishes one edition of a book or monograph from another. Eligible Canadian publishers may obtain the numbers at no charge for print books, ebooks, audiobooks and educational or instructional DVDs. LAC says an ISBN does not provide copyright protection.
The ISBN policy operates alongside, but does not settle, Canada’s broader debate over generative AI and copyright. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) says the federal consultation has closed and the government is considering whether concerns should be addressed through copyright policy or other measures.
The Competition Bureau says Canada has not yet clarified whether AI developers need copyright owners’ permission for text-and-data-mining activities. That question concerns the use of copyrighted material in AI development, while LAC’s rule covers publishers’ access to identifiers.
Global News reported that the Canadian Authors Association welcomed LAC’s policy as “only a first step.” The outlet also reported that the Association of Canadian Publishers opposes AI replacing human creative work.
LAC says the guidance remains under review and has not announced when that review will conclude.
