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Authors push back as publishers and agents make claims on Anthropic settlement

Authors report publishers and agents wrongly claiming shares of Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement, which pays $3,000 per pirated work across roughly 500,000 titles.

Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement, given final approval in July, pays $3,000 per pirated work for nearly 500,000 titles, split 50-50 with publishers for in-print books. Authors including April Henry report publishers claiming payments for works whose rights reverted years ago, and some agents claiming percentages despite not being rightsholders. Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger attributes the disputes to poor recordkeeping rather than deliberate overreach. Full author claims require rights reversion before the settlement's August 10, 2022 download date.

TechCrunch · AI · 9d agoAI industry

Anthropic's $1.5 billion book settlement descends into chaos as authors and publishers fight over who gets paid

Authors and publishers are filing competing claims over payouts from Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement covering 482,000 pirated books.

Anthropic agreed to pay $3,000 per illegally downloaded book, affecting more than 482,000 titles, in the largest copyright settlement in US history. As payouts begin, authors, publishers, and literary agencies are filing competing claims, complicated by poor rights-reversion records; textbook authors are reportedly owed as little as 10-15 percent under their contracts. A court had ruled Anthropic's use of illegally obtained books unlawful while deeming training on legally purchased books fair use.

The Decoder · 4d agoAI policy1

Microsoft says virtually nobody was grabbing NYT articles through its chatbot

Microsoft files summary judgement briefs in NYT copyright lawsuit, arguing only 59,545 of 8.2M Copilot logs show substantial overlap with news content.

Microsoft filed new legal filings in the consolidated copyright lawsuit brought by The New York Times, authors, and publishers against Microsoft and OpenAI, arguing for summary judgement. Analysis of 8.2 million Copilot chat logs found only 59,545 contained at least 16 words in common with news content, with just 24 responses showing at least 30 matching words in the authors' case. Microsoft argues the numbers support fair use, claiming Copilot rarely reproduces substantive chunks; the Times says discovery shows Microsoft and OpenAI stole from it, and the Trump administration filed a statement of interest supporting OpenAI.

The Verge · AI · 11d agoAI policy1