In what’s potentially the first major payout to creatives whose work was used to train AI systems, Anthropic has reached an agreement to pay “at least” a staggering $1.5 billion, plus interest, to authors to settle its class-action lawsuit. The amount breaks down to smaller payouts expected to be approximately $3,000 per book or work. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said it’s “believed to be the largest publicly reported recovery in the history of US copyright litigation.”
“This result is nothing short of remarkable,” the legal filing states.
The settlement is subject to court approval, and a hearing will take place on September 8th. According to a press release, the final amount could be higher, in that approximately 500,000 works will likely be paid out, but if the total is higher than that, Anthropic will pay an additional $3,000 per work, and it all depends on the number of claims submitted. As part of the settlement, Anthropic must also destroy the original files it downloaded and any copies.
“The settlement only releases claims based on past acts – it does not give Anthropic a license or permission for future AI training and it does not release any claims that arise after August 25, 2025,” the release stated.
The landmark decision is part of a year-long saga. In August 2024, three authors — Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson — alleged that Anthropic had “built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books.” Over the summer, a federal judge handed Anthropic a small win, ruling that the company was within its legal rights to train its AI models on legally purchased books. But the judge also said that Anthropic would need to face a separate trial for its alleged use of pirated books. In July, a California federal judge ruled that the authors could bring a class action lawsuit representing all US writers whose work allegedly came from libraries of pirated books downloaded by Anthropic. And late last month, Anthropic said it had settled the class action lawsuit — but we didn’t know the terms until now.
“In June, the District Court issued a landmark ruling on AI development and copyright law, finding that Anthropic’s approach to training AI models constitutes fair use,” Aparna Sridhar, Anthropic’s deputy general counsel, told The Verge in a statement. “Today’s settlement, if approved, will resolve the plaintiffs’ remaining legacy claims. We remain committed to developing safe AI systems that help people and organizations extend their capabilities, advance scientific discovery, and solve complex problems.”
The settlement is especially noteworthy during a time of mounting lawsuits against AI companies over copyright infringement from media outlets, platforms, creatives, and companies — and, at the same time, an increasing number of partnerships with those same AI companies from companies and media outlets willing to provide data to train AI systems in order to get a piece of the pie.
It’s not the only legal action Anthropic has faced in recent years. This summer, Reddit filed suit against Anthropic, claiming that the AI company’s bots had accessed Reddit more than 100,000 times since July 2024, after Anthropic had said it blocked them from doing so. And in 2023, Universal Music sued Anthropic over “systematic and widespread infringement of their copyrighted song lyrics.”
For this case, authors and rightsholders may visit AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com, the release stated, a website that “which gives potential class members an option to provide contact information to Class Counsel.”
“In the coming weeks, and if the court preliminarily approves the settlement, the website will provide to find a full and easily searchable listing of all works covered by the settlement and information for class members about their options and rights regarding the settlement,” the release said.
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