S
Copyright registration is a very imperfect weapon for fighting the battle against the broligarchs.
Especially with it being costly and cumbersome.
But it's the weapon we have & it's *conceptually* the right weapon. (I would like to see reform, but make it *harder* to infringe, not easier).
8/n
We have a real weapon to fight the tech industry...or the world has to admit that intellectual property isn't a thing anymore & we're just in the cyberpunk dystopia where we're all owned by OpenAI.
Ironically, with Trump actively destroying the country, that possibility is far too real.
7/n
Not just this specific lawsuit, but all the others, the defense of copyright in general, the prosecution of theft by the tech industry in general.
This entangles authors worldwide, international treaties, the entire concept of protecting intellectual property.
This is BIG.
6/n
I do understand cost is a factor why people don't register copyright(and you shouldn't have to! The system also needs reform!)
But the people who can afford it, need to do it (and the publishers need to be sued to make them do it).
This is a battle that will continue for years (if not decades).
5/n
Every indie & every tradpub author, right now, should see clearly why they need to register copyright. I know I do.
AI corps are stealing our works **right now** & will continue to do so, and
**the more copyright registrations we build up**
the more ammunition we have to destroy them.
4/n
That's why Anthropic was freaking out.
And this isn't a one-and-done thing... not just this lawsuit, not even with all the other lawsuits...
AI companies are *still* stealing, they will keep stealing in the future even more, because
**theft is their business model**
3/n
The settlement happened FAST & *screwed lots of writers* because the # of stolen works copyright registered in the US was VERY LOW.
500k out of 7M ~ 7%!
But what if it were higher?
If the # of copyright registrations was even 50%, Anthropic would be bankrupted by any settlement.
2/n
So the AI class action of authors against Anthropic for stealing all our works is up in the air right now (and a mess), but...
I'm thinking about this differently this morning.
I've been thinking about *defending copyright*... but **we can also use copyright as a weapon.**
1/n
"Alsup gave the parties a Sept. 15 deadline to submit a final list of works, which currently stands around 465,000."
Ok WTH is this? They cannot POSSIBLY have an accurate list. There were 7M pirated works. I know my own works and even *I've* had a hard time figure out which meet the criteria.
BIG NEWS: Judge rejects the AI class action settlement...
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:v6hkwlrkoi34v4zsanhwft2d/post/3lyegvw5lvk2n
this seems to separate the two
"Judge Alsup certified the class only for piracy, not the act of AI training, and as such the fair use ruling on training applies only with respect to the three named plaintiffs, not the certified class authors and publishers. "
https://authorsguild.org/news/what-authors-need-to-know-about-the-anthropic-settlement/
@dalias it's a fair question and I don't actually know the answer.
I would say I'll have a better idea when I can see the form I have to actually sign when I join the class action (I have 91 titles in the pirated database).
I need to look at the other suits that are already ongoing too — and I have smart friends I expect will be weighing in on this 
well I have 91 works in the pirated dataset and I'm still probably not going to sue
And even if accept being in the class, it only applies to *THIS COMPANY*
if I decide I actually want to sue any of the other 5000 companies that used LibGen, I can do that
And the judge already poisoned this particular suit by ruling it's "fair use"
@dalias I honestly don't think opting out of the class helps anything... this case is settled, I'd rather see them pay as much of that settlement money as possible.
There's always other class actions that can be filed. There are *so many* companies that have stolen these books. So the question will be... what will happen with those? IDK but opting out of the class would change nothing. Might as well get authors some money.
Not entirely clear, but it also appears to be a set fine? So authors in the pool get to fight over the total? Rather than "you will pay each author X amount" — it says $3000 but that assumes 500k authors file claims. Could be less. Anthropic doesn't care, they'll pay their fine and be free to steal.
"it fits a tech industry playbook to grow a business first and later pay a relatively small fine...for breaking the rules... Anthropic (is valued) at $183 billion."
It's what I suspected: Anthropic did the maths on how many authors have registered copyright (only 500k out of the 7M titles stolen, $3k not $150k). Better than $750 per title(statue min)but...
It's a fine for "rule breaking" not "you stole books, erase your model and start over with non-stolen goods"
https://www.newsday.com/business/anthropic-copyright-authors-settlement-training-y85533
great piece with lots of data showing the clear divides
"Republicans will keep claiming their states are better. But their residents keep dying younger, earning less, and learning less while having their most fundamental freedoms stripped away...This is a feature, not a bug for Republicans."
https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/red-states-less-freedom-more-poverty