Authors challenge publisher claims on Anthropic copyright settlement

Authors seeking payments from Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement are challenging claims made by publishers and literary agencies, according to TechCrunch. Some writers say organisations are seeking money for books whose rights had reverted, or claiming the full payment when they may be entitled to only half.

The settlement covers nearly 500,000 titles and provides $3,000 for each pirated work. Where a book remains in print with a traditional publisher, the payment is generally divided equally between the author and publisher.

Authors should receive the full payment for self-published books or works whose rights reverted before 10 August 2022. The settlement received final approval in July after a ruling that training AI models on copyrighted material was fair use, while pirating copyrighted works was not.

Writers Beware said it had received complaints in two broad categories: publishers reportedly claiming works over which they no longer had rights, and publishers seeking 100 per cent of payments when they may be entitled to 50 per cent. Literary agencies have also reportedly made claims, despite not generally being book rightsholders.

The scale of the disputed claims remains unclear. Writers Beware and the Authors Guild said the issues may reflect poor record-keeping and a confusing settlement process rather than deliberate misconduct. The Authors Guild and author advocates have shared information on how writers can challenge payment allocations.