Anthropic to pay $1.5 billion to authors in landmark AI settlement

"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.""

"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."

Anthropic agreed to a settlement of at least $1.5 billion plus interest to resolve a class-action lawsuit brought by authors whose works were used in AI training. Payouts are expected to average about $3,000 per book or work, with approximately 500,000 works likely to receive payments and additional per-work payments if claim totals exceed projections. The settlement requires Anthropic to destroy the original downloaded files and any copies. A court hearing for approval is scheduled for September 8th. Plaintiff lawyers describe the recovery as likely the largest publicly reported in US copyright litigation history.

Read at The Verge