Anthropic Resolves $1.5B Copyright Lawsuit Over AI Training

A US judge approved Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement with authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson who sued the AI company for copyright infringement. The authors alleged Anthropic illegally used their copyrighted works to train its Claude AI model, acquiring millions of books from shadow libraries. While the court acknowledged illegal acquisition, it maintained that using the books for AI training constituted fair use.

The settlement, certified as a class action last July, will distribute roughly $3,000 to each of approximately 500,000 works included in the claim. Anthropic initially expressed concerns the settlement could threaten the company’s viability.

With over 91 percent of eligible copyright holders claiming their share, Anthropic can now move forward as it nears a potential public listing and a valuation approaching $1 trillion. The $1.5 billion represents approximately 0.8 percent of the company’s valuation from last September.