Hundreds of Irish writers set to share millions of euro after €1.31bn Anthropic settlement

Hundreds of Irish writers are set to receive millions of euros following a €1.31 billion settlement by AI company Anthropic. The settlement stems from a class-action lawsuit involving the use of the unauthorized online library LibGen to train Anthropic's Claude AI models. While the settlement provides significant compensation for many authors, the payout is structured as a flat rate of approximately €2,630 per book.

The settlement's scope is limited by specific legal requirements, such as books needing to be registered for copyright in the United States at the time of the settlement. This provision means many Irish works will be excluded from the payout. Furthermore, legal experts note that while the settlement is a landmark victory, the court's suggestion that using unlicensed copyrighted works for training might fall under "fair use" could set a challenging precedent for authors in the future.

Industry representatives, including the Irish Writers Union, view the case as a vital precedent against the practice of technology giants using pirated databases to train generative AI. While major publishers like Bloomsbury are expected to receive millions, for many individual authors, the settlement serves more as a validation of their intellectual property rights than a life-changing sum.

(Source：The Irish Times)