Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement approved; only 350 authors opted out

Some of those fees include future work that lawyers will do to distribute funds, and some authors argued that lawyers’ projections for time spent were alarmingly inflated. Acknowledging these concerns, Martínez-Olguín wrote in a footnote that the court decided to take “an additional step to protect the interests of the Class.” Once payouts have been finalized, lawyers will be required to file a post-distribution accounting, and if their fees are less, then the court “may reduce” them, Martínez-Olguín said. Although the settlement likely relieves the three authors who spent years defending their works and 506,194 works from potential class members, the lead plaintiffs are likely disappointed by a decision to reduce their requested service awards from $50,000 to $15,000. But Martínez-Olguín said that the higher amount was “unreasonable,” despite authors spending substantial time and resources on both litigation and the settlement negotiation. Without a sign that authors may face retaliation for filing the lawsuit, the judge ruled that lower awards were due. In a statement to Reuters, lead plaintiffs said that the settlement “brings us one step closer to real accountability for Anthropic and puts all AI companies on notice they can’t shortcut the law or override creators’ rights.” It’s unlikely, but still possible, that authors may receive more than $3,000 per work. “If any funds remain in the Settlement Fund after all Valid Claims are paid, the Parties anticipate a redistribution of the remaining funds to Settlement Class Members unless it is economically infeasible to do so,” Martínez-Olguín said. Authors’ lawyers celebrated the judge’s approval, writing in a press release that “rightsholders came together to call foul” on Anthropic’s piracy and describing support for the settlement among them as “overwhelming.” Anthropic also seems happy to be done arguing about the settlement. In a statement provided to Ars, Anthropic’s deputy general counsel, Aparna Sridhar, said that Anthropic is glad the case’s landmark ruling established that its AI training was fair use and is happy that most rightsholders have already filed claims. “We are pleased that more than 91 percent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we’re looking forward to bringing this matter to a close,” Sridhar said. In a court filing, Passman argued that evidence showed he received late notice of the settlement. He allegedly couldn’t even rely on his publisher, Simon & Schuster, to forward notices and “had no information about the existence of any opt-out deadline” until he received a letter past the deadline that only invited him to claim his payout and did not mention opt-outs. Passman did not immediately respond to Ars’ request to comment on the settlement approval. But he’s likely disappointed, since he argued that his book, All You Need to Know About the Music Business, is a key industry text and “the estimated per-work settlement payment of approximately $3,351.39 does not adequately compensate me for the potential value of my individual copyright claims.” Anthropic fought Passman’s attempt to opt out, arguing that he took months to file his opt-out request after learning about the settlement. According to Anthropic, it allegedly strained credulity that Passman “somehow did not hear about the largest copyright settlement ever in a case that generated mountains of headlines.” “Allowing Mr. Passman to opt out after such a long and unjustified delay would invite others to try the same, undermining finality and risking undue delay in the distribution of Settlement funds,” Anthropic argued. “In a Class of hundreds of thousands, only a tiny fraction—approximately 400—have sought to opt out.” Martínez-Olguín agreed with Anthropic and said that granting Passman’s request risked opening the floodgates for other authors to back out of the settlement. In her order, Martínez-Olguín reminded authors that the settlement provided non-monetary benefits they seemed to be ignoring. For one, authors can avoid costly, lengthy, complex litigation that could result in a loss with “zero recovery,” she said, citing precedent showing that “prompt closure” provides value to class members. For another, the settlement requires Anthropic to destroy all their works and allows for future litigation, should Anthropic misuse their works after the dust settles.