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

A judge approved a $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and authors, ending the largest copyright class-action ever certified and marking the largest copyright settlement to date. The settlement followed a court ruling that Anthropic's AI training on books was fair use but its piracy of works likely was not. Some authors opposed the deal, arguing that lawyer fees were too high and the estimated $3,000 per work payout too low, but only 350 authors opted out.