In most novels, right after the title page and before the first chapter, you’ll find the following statement or something similar to it: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, now known or hereafter invented, or stored in a database without the written permission of the author, except in case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. A similar but harsher statement appears at the beginning of movies, threatening a federal investigation followed by a heavy fine and/or a 5-year prison sentence for anyone found guilty of “pirating” the film.

All three of my YA novels have such warnings, but they didn’t mean much until just recently when I received notification of a $1.5 billion class action settlement in the case of Bartz v. Anthropic. According to the notification, this outfit called Anthropic “infringed protected copyrights by downloading books in two allegedly pirated online datasets called Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror.” My first reaction was why am I getting this? I can see Anthropic wanting to download books by John Grisham, J.K. Rowling, and other popular contemporary authors. Or maybe some classics like Huckleberry Finn and Little Women. But my three YA novels are far from being bestsellers or classics. Since the first book, Fast-Pitch Love, was released in the fall of 2014, I’ve sold about 620 copies, over half of them through face-to-face sales at book fairs and festivals. So, would anyone bother to “pirate” Fast-Pitch Love or the two books that followed?

Fortunately, the notice I received provided a website I could visit to see if any of my books had been wrongfully taken. And sure enough, Fast-Pitch Love was listed! I don’t know why The Bullybuster was omitted, but I’m guessing The Secrets We Carry: Journal of a Girl in Trouble came out after the lawsuit was filed.

The settlement notice gave me several lines of action from which to choose. One was to do nothing and probably end up with nothing. A second option was to approve the settlement and submit a claim to request eligibility to receive payment from the $1.5 billion settlement fund. A third was to object to the settlement but remain eligible to receive funds if the settlement is ultimately approved. A fourth, was to exclude myself from the settlement and retain the option of bringing my own lawsuit against Anthropic with or without an attorney.

I decided on the second option and made a claim, using an online form provided by a special website, partly set up for that purpose. I have to say the form was pretty straightforward and easy to understand. Aside from basic information such as my name, address, and title of my book, I had to record the book’s ISBN and copyright registration number.

Assuming the settlement is approved by Anthropic, will I get any money from the settlement fund? I would guess very little if any. There are clearly big-name authors involved in this case as well as prolific authors who have dozens of books listed on the website’s database of “pirated” books.

I might add, before concluding, that I don’t know if Anthropic sold any copies of Fast-Pitch Love. But in a strange way, it’s flattering to think they might have. If my book is valuable enough to be pirated, it must have some value for people who purchase it legally.