Judge Approves Anthropic’s $1.5 Billion Copyright Settlement; Only 350 Authors Opt Out

A judge has approved a $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and authors, concluding the largest copyright class-action ever certified and the largest copyright settlement ever reached. The settlement followed a court ruling that Anthropic's AI training on books was fair use but that its piracy of works likely was not. Some authors had opposed the deal, arguing lawyers' fees were too high and payouts—estimated at about $3,000 per work—too low, and attempted to opt out past the deadline; ultimately, only 350 authors opted out.