The advancement of AI is such a boon to humanity who are not authors or publishers. Copyright infringement cases have been on the rise since 2022. It is essential to know that AI is not magic. AI undergoes training, using the original work of experts to emulate these intellectual abilities (meaning they learn like us). Authors, Visual Artists, News Publishers, Music and Coders filed several cases against big giants like OpenAI, Meta, Stability AI, Microsoft, AI song generators Suno and Udio, GitHub Copilot, and more.
And many creators tragically lost their cases. But, in Anthropic’s case, they had to make a huge sum ($1.5 billion + interest) as a settlement to authors. Interestingly, the largest copyright settlement in U.S. history. Does this mean there could be a shift in how AI companies are handling the original content or creators? And here’s everything you need to know.
What Is Happening With Anthropic?
- In the Bartz, et al. v. Anthropic PBC case, Anthropic allegedly used the authors’ work for training its AI systems.
- Now, Anthropic has agreed to settle the case (by paying the authors) for at least $1.5 billion + interest.
- The payout for each author would be $3,000 per book/work. And it is said to be the largest copyright settlement in the U.S.
Why Is Anthropic Paying These Authors?
In August 2024, three renowned authors, Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson, accused Athropic of using pirated books to train their AI. The court favoured the authors and held Anthropic accountable for copyright infringement.
In July 2025, a judge called for a class-action lawsuit. This means that U.S. authors whose books were allegedly pirated by Anthropic could be part of the case (and welcome to take their share). In short, not just these three authors, the court calls all the authors, as a group, to collectively fight against the company.
In August 2025, Anthropic came to a settlement instead of continuing the trial.
Aparna Sridhar, Anthropic’s deputy general counsel, told The Verge in a statement, “Today’s settlement, if approved, will resolve the plaintiffs’ remaining legacy claims. We remain committed to developing safe AI systems that help people and organizations extend their capabilities, advance scientific discovery, and solve complex problems.”
Bartz, et al. v. Anthropic Pbc Case Settlement Details
- The next hearing is on September 8, 2025, that’s when the court must approve the settlement.
- About 500,000 (author) works are expected to be eligible for the payout.
- In the event that more than 500,000 are filed, Anthropic shall pay $3,000 per work for those authors as well, meaning the payout can be larger than we initially learned.
For the same, a special website, AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com, has been set up.
Here, authors can:
- Give their contact details to lawyers.
- Check if their work is on the settlement list.
- Learn their rights to payment after the court approves.
Furthermore, Anthropic Must:
- Anthropic shall destroy all pirated files and any copies it has.
- This settlement only covers the actions of the past (August 25, 2025). However, the authors can still sue the company if a similar occurrence happens in the future.
- The company can no longer use authors’ works for future AI training.
Why Is This a Big Deal for Authors and Publishers?
Well, this is the first time that an AI company is paying the authors for using their work. The past has only seen most of them losing their cases against tech giants. Notably, many AI companies are partnering with authors and organizations (by paying them) to train their AI systems.
Leave a Reply