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

A judge has approved a $1.5 billion settlement between AI company Anthropic and authors, ending the largest copyright class-action ever certified and resulting in the largest copyright settlement ever reached. The settlement was proposed after a court ruled that Anthropic's use of books to train AI was fair use, but its piracy of works likely was not. Opposing authors argued that lawyers' fees were too high and payouts too low, with some attempting to opt out past the deadline; ultimately, only 350 authors opted out.