Key facts
- Bloomsbury, publisher of Harry Potter, will receive approximately $19 million from a $1.5 billion copyright settlement with AI startup Anthropic.
- The settlement resolves claims over the use of authors' copyrighted works to train AI chatbots.
- Over 14,000 of Bloomsbury's titles were included in the settlement.
- Proceeds will be split between Bloomsbury and the affected authors after legal fees.
- The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by authors concerned about AI training data.
- This is reportedly the largest copyright recovery in history.
Bloomsbury, the publisher behind the Harry Potter series and other bestselling authors, is set to receive a significant payout as part of a $1.5 billion copyright settlement with AI startup Anthropic. The settlement addresses the use of copyrighted works, including novels, to train AI chatbots.
Bloomsbury confirmed that 14,087 of its titles were included in the agreement, with a proposed compensation of approximately $3,000 per title. After deductions for legal fees and expenses, the publisher and the affected authors are expected to share about $19 million (£14 million) in total. The funds are anticipated to be distributed in installments, potentially starting in the latter half of the current fiscal year.
The lawsuit, initiated in 2024 by authors including Andrea Bartz, highlights a major point of contention in the AI boom: the use of vast amounts of data from the internet, often including copyrighted material, to train AI models. While US AI companies have invoked the legal doctrine of fair use, creative professionals have been advocating for permission or compensation for the use of their work.
US district judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has approved the settlement, describing it as providing "meaningful relief" to authors and publishers. Justin Nelson, the lead lawyer for the authors, hailed the agreement as "the largest known copyright recovery in history." This marks a significant development, being the first major settlement among numerous AI copyright lawsuits currently proceeding in US courts.
Anthropic's deputy general counsel, Aparna Sridhar, expressed satisfaction with the high claim rate, noting that over 91% of eligible authors and publishers have claimed their share. Bloomsbury has also been exploring AI licensing deals, having announced an agreement last year to allow its academic works to be used for training generative AI programs, with authors having the option to opt in and receive royalties.