Anthropic settles AI copyright lawsuit for $1.5 billion
The settlement covers more than 480,000 works, requiring the AI firm to destroy infringing copies and pay authors approximately $3,000 per title, while some plaintiffs pursue separate litigation.
A US federal judge has approved a $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and a group of authors, resolving a lawsuit that accused the artificial intelligence firm of using pirated copies of literary works to train its Claude large language models. The agreement, finalised by US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in San Francisco, marks a significant development in the ongoing legal battles surrounding generative AI and copyright infringement.
The case originated in 2024 when authors filed suit against Anthropic, alleging the company had utilised unlicensed copies of their work for model training. The litigation initially fell under the jurisdiction of Judge William Alsup, who delivered a nuanced ruling earlier in the proceedings. Alsup determined that Anthropic’s use of the writers’ work for training purposes constituted fair use. However, he simultaneously found that the company infringed copyright by storing seven million pirated books in a central library.
Prior to the current settlement, Alsup had rejected an earlier version of the deal in September of the previous year. He described the proposed terms as incomplete and coercive, stating they were being shoved down the throats of authors and left numerous unresolved questions. Following Alsup’s retirement, Judge Martinez-Olguin assumed control of the case and oversaw the revised agreement.
Under the approved terms, Anthropic is required to destroy the pirated copies of the books. The settlement covers more than 480,000 works, with authors expected to receive approximately $3,000 per affected work. To facilitate the process, Anthropic has launched an official website for the settlement, which includes a list of affected works to help authors determine their eligibility for claims.
While the majority of plaintiffs have accepted the deal, not all authors are satisfied with the compensation. Some plaintiffs opted out of the settlement, citing the payout as too low, and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic. The exact number of authors who have chosen to pursue independent litigation remains unspecified in the current filings.
