Key facts
- Anthropic has agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors and publishers.
- Authors may receive up to $3,000 per work used to train Anthropic's AI.
- A federal judge granted final approval to the settlement, deeming it fair and reasonable.
- Approximately 91.3% of eligible works, totaling nearly 500,000, have been claimed.
- Class counsel was awarded approximately $101.5 million in attorneys' fees.
A federal judge has given final approval to a landmark $1.5 billion settlement between artificial intelligence company Anthropic and thousands of authors and publishers. The lawsuit, Bartz v. Anthropic, centered on Anthropic's use of copyrighted books to train its Claude AI chatbot.
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that the settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate, providing substantial benefits to the class. The claims rate for eligible works reached at least 91.3%, covering nearly 500,000 works in total. The judge rejected a small number of objections to the settlement.
Previously, Judge William Alsup had found that while training AI on copyrighted books could be considered fair use, Anthropic's decision to retain millions of unauthorized downloads for a permanent research library was likely infringing, prompting the settlement discussions. Authors included in the settlement may receive up to $3,000 per work, while larger publishers are expected to receive tens of millions of dollars.
The court awarded class counsel approximately $101.5 million in attorneys' fees, a reduction from the initially requested amount, representing about 6.8% of the settlement fund. AAP President and CEO Maria Pallante lauded the settlement as a significant victory in holding big tech accountable for appropriating intellectual property.