Inside the proposed $1.5B Anthropic book-piracy settlement: who gets $3,000 per book and when

Anthropic agrees to $1.5B settlement over pirated books

Anthropic reached a proposed settlement valued at $1.5 billion, pending court approval. Plaintiffs allege Anthropic copied and stored pirated books to train Claude. The agreement resolves past conduct and includes data deletion terms, the Authors Guild said.

The parties filed papers seeking preliminary approval in Bartz v. Anthropic. A hearing on preliminary approval has been scheduled, according to the docket. If granted, notice and claims administration would proceed under the plan.

The settlement contemplates escrow funding and staged disbursements over two years. Payments would be made according to a defined installment schedule, with per-title amounts fixed in the plan, subject to eligibility.

"As best as we can tell, it's the largest copyright recovery ever."

- Justin Nelson

Key details

• Proposed fund: $1.5 billion, subject to court approval.
• Per-title payment: about $3,000 per eligible book, per the settlement plan.
• Estimated class size: roughly 500,000 books identified as eligible.
• Funding schedule: $300 million after preliminary approval and $300 million after final approval.
• Deferred payments: $450 million at 12 months and $450 million at 24 months, with escrow interest.
• Alleged sources: Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror, per court filings.
• Alleged volume: at least 7 million files copied, according to plaintiffs' filings.
• Data handling: destruction of accused copies required by the agreement, per the Authors Guild.
• Scope: the agreement addresses past use only, per the Authors Guild.
• Administration: a final Works List is due October 10 to support claims review.
• Claims access: a searchable database for claimants will be built from the Works List.
• Distribution: claim payments will be made to rightsholders identified in eligible titles.
• Model: Claude is the Anthropic AI model at issue in the case.
• Documentation: supporting documents and detailed terms are filed on the case docket.

Background

Bartz v. Anthropic PBC is a putative class action brought by authors who allege the use of unauthorized copies of books to train Claude. Plaintiffs cite piracy archives including Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror.

In June 2025, the court issued an order addressing fair use and alleged copying of pirated books. That development preceded settlement negotiations, according to the docket. The case now moves through the class action approval process overseen by Judge William Alsup.

The docket includes the complaint, motion papers, and the proposed settlement agreement. Court approval will determine timing for notice and claims. Additional filings will detail the notice program and claims procedures.