Judge approves $1.5 billion copyright settlement between Anthropic and authors
Federal judge endorses deal that pays about $3,000 per covered book, while future works remain outside its scope and notices to authors are central to the process
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Thursday approved a $1.5 billion settlement between artificial intelligence company Anthropic and authors who allege nearly half a million books were pirated to train chatbots. U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued the approval in San Francisco federal court after the sides worked to address his concerns about the settlement, which will pay authors and publishers about $3,000 for each of the books covered by the agreement. It does not apply to future works.
A Monday filing outlined a system designed to get robust notice to all authors and publishers covered by the agreement, ensuring they can sign off on the settlement or opt out to protect their legal rights moving forward. The filing also sought to reassure him that the author and publishers group that cobbled the deal together are not engaged in any “back room” dealings that would hurt lesser-known authors. Alsup’s main concern centered on how the claims process will be handled in an effort to ensure everyone eligible knows about it so the authors don’t “get the shaft.” He had set a September 22 deadline for submitting a claims form for him to review before Thursday's hearing to review the settlement again. The judge had raised worries about two big groups connected to the case — the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers — working “behind the scenes” in ways that could pressure some authors to accept the settlement without fully understanding it.
Attorneys for the authors said in Monday's filing they believe the settlement will result in a high claims rate, respects existing contracts and is “consistent with due process” and the court's guidance. Alsup had dealt the case a mixed ruling in June, finding that training AI chatbots on copyrighted books wasn’t illegal but that Anthropic wrongfully acquired millions of books through pirate websites to help improve its Claude chatbot. Bestselling thriller novelist Andrea Bartz, who sued Anthropic with two other authors last year, said in a court declaration ahead of the hearing that she strongly supports the settlement and will work to explain its significance to fellow writers. “Together, authors and publishers are sending a message to AI companies: You are not above the law, and our intellectual property isn’t yours for the taking,” she wrote. Alsup also said in the courtroom Thursday that he plans to step down from the bench by the end of the year.
The decision closes one of the largest copyright disputes tied to training data for AI models, while leaving room for continuing discussions about how rights holders are notified, how opt-outs are managed and how future works will be treated under similar settlements. The case has sharpened the broader conversation about whether and how copyrighted material can be used to train AI systems without infringing creators’ rights, and how courts should balance incentives for innovation with protections for authors.