To be eligible for the Anthropic class-action suit, authors’ works must be registered with the US Copyright Office. But some authors are finding their publishers did not in fact register their books as they are contractually obligated to do.
So now what? First, confirm whether your works are registered. You can ask your publisher or agent for the copyright certification, and/or you can use the US Copyright Office online search to see if your work has been registered. The Authors Guild is assisting authors who have learned their publisher(s) failed to register works; if you have an agent, you should be discussing the issue with them as well.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
