Anthropic Reaches $1.5B Settlement with Authors — The Largest AI Copyright Payout in History

Anthropic has agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement in the Bartz v. Anthropic class action, making it the largest AI copyright payout in history. Authors who are sole copyright owners receive approximately $3,000 per qualifying work; those sharing rights with publishers receive a 50/50 split of roughly $1,500. The settlement fund is paid in four instalments: $300M in October 2025, $300M post-approval, and $450M each in September 2026 and 2027. The claims deadline is March 30, 2026, with a Final Approval Hearing before Judge William Alsup on April 23. The case centred on Anthropic's use of books from shadow libraries LibGen and PiLiMi to train Claude.