In the recent and pending Anthropic $1.5B settlement, a lot of writers were disappointed that their work was pirated, used, yet they did not qualify for this settlement, which amounted to about $3,000 per pirated book. One of the main disqualifiers was not having filed a formal copyright with the United States Copyright Office. https://www.copyright.gov/ I read a recent article that cried foul a bit, saying a lot of writers had their work stolen yet they will not be compensated, because of this formality.

Why do some writers file and others do not? Most traditional publishers automatically do so for each book, but self-publishing and indie published authors don’t often do so. What are the pros and cons?

Pros
1) You demonstrate legal ownership.
2) You earn the legal right to file a copyright infringement lawsuit in federal court.
3) It’s easier to sell rights to a work, potentially increasing its monetary value.
4) Decreases odds of being pirated.

Cons
1) Fees. Minimum $65.
2) One more nuisance step in publishing that will not likely generate a return.
3) To enforce in court is often a financial burden.
4) It protects the way an idea was expressed, but the idea can still be copied.

Will I always copyright my books? Yes. Will I always recoup that investment? No. This once, however, I just might. though. And there are more lawsuits in the works.

Whether to file for copyright is an individual decision. There is no right or wrong. Just don’t cry foul if you miss out on some class action that might swoop you up. However, what are the odds of that happening? Again, no right or wrong decision. Just own whichever one you make.