A U.S. federal judge has approved Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement with authors and publishers over the company's acquisition and use of pirated books to train its Claude artificial intelligence chatbot, marking the first major resolution in the growing wave of AI copyright litigation.
The agreement covers more than 482,000 books and will provide payments of about $3,000 per book to eligible authors and publishers.
District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled that the settlement provides "meaningful relief" to rights holders, with about 91% of covered works already claimed.
Plaintiff attorney Justin Nelson described the deal as "the largest known copyright recovery in history."
The case was brought in 2024 by a group of authors led by bestselling novelist Andrea Bartz, who argued that Anthropic had used their works without permission in developing its AI systems.
The lawsuit followed a significant court ruling that found training AI models on copyrighted books could qualify as fair use under U.S. copyright law.
However, the court also found that Anthropic had improperly obtained millions of books through pirate websites, creating the basis for legal claims against the company.
Anthropic welcomed the outcome, highlighting the court's earlier finding that AI training on books itself constituted fair use.
The company said it was pleased that the vast majority of eligible authors and publishers had claimed their share of the settlement funds.
The agreement is regarded as the first major settlement among numerous copyright lawsuits currently facing AI developers over the use of published works in training large language models.
Even as the copyright case moves toward resolution, Anthropic is facing a fresh legal battle.
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Delaware, alleging that Anthropic's AI systems infringe patents related to neural networks, machine learning and neuroscience-inspired computing.
The foundation claims two patents developed by university researchers cover technologies used in Anthropic's AI models. It is seeking unspecified financial damages and a court order barring further infringement.
In its complaint, the foundation argued that concerns about Anthropic's handling of intellectual property extend beyond copyrighted material to patented technologies as well.
The patent suit is believed to be the first of its kind brought against Anthropic and adds to the broader legal scrutiny facing artificial intelligence companies as courts continue to define the boundaries of intellectual property rights in the AI era.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in New York on Wednesday, as Washington pushes for an end...
U.S. President Donald Trump said his team held a three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation in New York that he described as “very good&rd...
The Trump administration plans to set a refugee admissions ceiling of 17,500 over the next 12 months, with the ...
U.S. President Donald Trump is addressing the UN General Assembly as world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, global security and diplomacy set to dominate the event.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was ready to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities if Moscow stops targeting Ukraine’s energy sector, critical infrastructure, and food exports, as he prepared to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in New York.
While addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Washington and Tehran will reach a deal after the U.S. midterm elections.
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes military action against Tehran.
Overnight Russian strikes on the city of Sumy, northeast Ukraine, have killed one woman and injured a man, the country's State Emergency Service has said.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday (19 September) the creation of an “AI Force” and plans to appoint an artificial intelligence (AI) czar, while rejecting calls to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI systems.
Google’s Gemini AI model accessed the internet and hacked three companies during a cybersecurity test, in what is believed to be the first known case of the company’s AI systems autonomously carrying out such activity.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 18 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of science.
French prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into suspected sexual harassment involving smart glasses, amid mounting global concern over the privacy risks posed by the devices.
Some of the world’s most powerful technology executives are lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump over artificial intelligence regulation, exposing growing divisions within the industry over how governments should respond to rapidly advancing AI.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment