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AI Copyright Case: $1.5B Settlement for Authors
17 Apr
Summary
- Nearly 120,000 authors seek share of $1.5 billion AI settlement.
- 91% of eligible works have claims filed in the massive lawsuit.
- This is the largest U.S. copyright class-action settlement ever.
Nearly 120,000 authors and copyright holders are pursuing a share of a $1.5 billion class-action settlement with AI company Anthropic. The settlement addresses allegations that Anthropic used their works without authorization for artificial intelligence training purposes.
Court filings reveal that claims have been submitted for 91% of the over 480,000 works encompassed by the agreement. This high claims rate is being hailed as a significant success for the authors.
A judge is scheduled to consider final approval for the settlement at a hearing on May 14. This case is notable as Anthropic is the first major AI firm to settle a U.S. copyright holder class-action lawsuit.
The authors initially sued Anthropic in 2024, asserting that their books were used without permission to train the company's AI model, Claude. This lawsuit is one of many copyright infringement cases filed against tech companies over AI training data.
While one judge previously ruled Anthropic made fair use of some material, he also found the company violated authors' rights by storing millions of pirated books. A trial was set to determine damages, but Anthropic agreed to the settlement last year.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs are requesting $187.5 million in fees, representing 12.5% of the settlement fund. This request was reduced from an initial ask of $300 million.
