Authors Challenge Claims on $1.5 Billion Anthropic Payouts as Agents Seek Shares Too
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Sep 6
Authors Challenge Claims on $1.5 Billion Anthropic Payouts as Agents Seek Shares Too
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Sep 6
Summary
$1.5 billion in Anthropic settlement payments are drawing fresh disputes after authors received notices that publishers or literary agents were claiming part of their compensation.
Under the deal, nearly 500,000 titles qualify for $3,000 per pirated work, split 50-50 with a traditional publisher only if the book was still in print when Anthropic downloaded it.
Authors and watchdogs say the problems cluster around two errors: publishers claiming reverted-rights books and some claimants seeking 100% when they should receive only half; agencies' claims are drawing sharper criticism because agents are not rightsholders.
Mary Rasenberger of the Authors Guild and Writers Beware's Victoria Strauss said the pattern likely reflects poor recordkeeping and a confusing claims process rather than deliberate misconduct, though Strauss called the volume of similar complaints potentially systemic.
Authors can dispute allocations, but proving a full claim may hinge on showing rights reverted before Aug. 10, 2022—the settlement's download date.
Will archaic publishing records cost authors their rightful share of a historic $1.5 billion AI settlement?
What hidden legal traps await authors fighting publishers for their reverted book rights?
Bartz v. Anthropic’s $1.5 Billion Settlement: A Turning Point for AI Copyright, Data Licensing, and Creative Rights
Overview
The Bartz v. Anthropic case began when authors sued Anthropic for using millions of pirated books to train its AI chatbot. The lawsuit grew into a class action, covering nearly 500,000 works and exposing Anthropic to over $70 billion in potential liability. To avoid this, Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement, which was later approved by the court. The settlement required timely U.S. copyright registration for payouts, leaving many unregistered and international creators excluded. This case set a new financial risk for unauthorized data scraping and pushed AI companies toward licensing agreements with publishers, reshaping industry practices.