Anthropic's $1.5B Copyright Settlement Approved; Only 350 Authors Opted Out

A U.S. District Judge has approved a $1.5 billion settlement between AI company Anthropic and authors, marking the largest copyright settlement ever reached. While most impacted authors and publishers have filed claims, a judge reduced lawyers’ fees from an initial request of 20% to under 7% and decreased lead plaintiffs’ service awards from $50,000 to $15,000. The judge overruled objections, stating that the settlement was fair and most class members were notified and participated.

• A $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and authors has been approved by a judge.
• This is the largest copyright class-action ever certified and the largest copyright settlement ever reached.
• Some authors objected to the settlement, arguing lawyers’ fees were too high and author payouts too low.
• The judge overruled objections, finding the settlement fair and noting high participation rates.
• Lawyers’ fees were reduced from an initial request of $300 million (20%) to approximately $101 million (less than 7%).
• Lead plaintiffs’ service awards were reduced from $50,000 to $15,000.
• Only 350 class members successfully opted out of the settlement, and most late opt-out requests were denied.
• The settlement requires Anthropic to destroy authors’ works used for training and allows for future litigation if works are misused.
  Continue reading https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/judge-approves-anthropics-1-5-billion-copyright-settlement-with-authors/