Anthropic Gets US Court Nod for $1.5 Bn AI Copyright Lawsuit Settlement
A federal judge approved Anthropic's $1.5 billion AI copyright settlement, rejecting objections and awarding $101 million in legal fees, while some authors continue separate lawsuits.Summary
In 2024, authors filed a class action against Anthropic, alleging the company used pirated books to train its chatbot Claude without permission. Judge William Alsup ruled that training on copyrighted works could be fair use, but also found that Anthropic stored more than seven million pirated titles in a central library, constituting infringement. A trial in December was avoided when the parties reached a $1.5 billion settlement.
On 4 July 2026, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez‑Olguin in San Francisco granted final approval, rejecting objections that the payout was inadequate and that plaintiffs’ lawyers would receive an excessive share. She awarded the plaintiffs’ legal team $101 million in fees, lower than the $187.5 million requested. While more than 91 % of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share, a group of authors opted out and continue separate copyright claims against Anthropic.
(Source：Outlook Business)