Judge Approves Anthropic’s $1.5 Billion Settlement Over Book Piracy

A federal judge has approved a $1.5 billion class action settlement involving Anthropic and a group of authors who alleged that the company used copyrighted books to train its AI models. In a ruling issued on Monday, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín stated that the settlement would provide “meaningful relief,” with authors set to receive approximately $3,000 for each book they claim was pirated by Anthropic.

This settlement marks the “largest known copyright recovery in history,” according to the law firm representing the authors. The lawsuit was initiated in 2024 by authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson. Although the now-retired Judge William Alsup granted Anthropic a partial victory last year, he also approved a separate class action lawsuit that accused the company of engaging in “Napster-style downloading of millions of works.” Anthropic reached the $1.5 billion settlement in September 2025, which Judge Alsup later gave preliminary approval.

Anthropic’s general counsel, Aparna Sridhar, expressed satisfaction that over 91% of the authors and publishers involved in the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, stating, “We’re looking forward to bringing this matter to a close.” However, Anthropic still faces copyright lawsuits from Chicken Soup for the Soul and other authors who contend that the $3,000 per book compensation is insufficient.