Anthropic must pay $3,000 for every illegally downloaded book used to train its Claude chatbot, creating a $1.5 billion settlement covering more than 482,000 titles. While the court ruled that training on unlawfully obtained books was illegal, it deemed training on legally purchased works fair use. This distinction means the fund is specifically for the former category, yet disputes over ownership and payment distribution have already emerged.
Authors and publishers are filing competing claims with the settlement administrator, complicating the payout process. Many publishers lack accurate records of rights that have reverted to authors, leaving some creators with as little as 10 to 15 percent of their contract value. Literary agencies are also attempting to claim shares despite having no legal standing to do so. Disputes that cannot be resolved will be handled by a court-appointed arbitrator.
- HarperCollins is claiming rights to a book that had long since reverted to author April Henry.
- Some textbook authors are receiving significantly less than their contracted percentage due to poor record-keeping.
- Writer Beware notes that literary agencies are seeking payment without legal entitlement.
