Judge Denies Anthropic's Billion-Dollar Copyright Settlement | Entrepreneur

""I have an uneasy feeling about hangers-on with all this money on the table," Alsup said, per Bloomberg. Alsup noted the settlement was "nowhere close to complete" and required further clarification on vital aspects, including how claims would be filed, how class members would be notified, and which works were covered. Without these, Alsup argued, the deal could unfairly disadvantage authors and lead to future litigation."

"Alsup said there were many "important questions" that need answering before approving the settlement, including a complete list of books and a clearly defined process for notifying potential class members, adding that class members typically "get the shaft" once deals are made and "attorneys stop caring." He wants clear and early guidance provided to authors, giving them proper time to opt in or out of the suit."

"The lawsuit originates from Anthropic's alleged downloading of millions of copyrighted books to train its AI models-a claim echoing similar legal efforts against major tech firms like OpenAI and Meta. Anthropic proposed paying about $3,000 per book to 500,000 authors in the suit. All legal eyes are on what happens next as this suit is thought to provide a template for future AI copyright litigation."

Judge William Alsup declined to approve the proposed $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and book authors, citing concerns that negotiations occurred behind closed doors and that authors could be excluded from meaningful input. The court found the settlement "nowhere close to complete" and demanded clarification on claims filing procedures, class-member notification, and the list of covered works. The judge warned that lack of transparency could unfairly disadvantage authors and spur future litigation, and he demanded clear, early guidance so authors can decide to opt in or out. The lawsuit alleges Anthropic downloaded millions of copyrighted books to train its models; the proposal offered about $3,000 per book to 500,000 authors.

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