{"rewrite":{"id":"r_0680eeed87e147a75c808da7","clusterId":"c_71277ffe422fd07368f9098e","slug":"anthropic-s-1-5-billion-settlement-over-pirated-books-in-ai-training-gets-final-approval","model":"deepseek-v4-flash:free","headline":"Anthropic's $1.5 Billion Settlement Over Pirated Books in AI Training Gets Final Approval","summary":"On July 20, 2026, a U.S. federal court in San Francisco formally approved a $1.5 billion settlement between AI developer Anthropic and a group of writers who sued the company in 2024. The lawsuit alleged that Anthropic used hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books from pirate sites to train its AI model Claude. The case, Bartz v. Anthropic PBC, was initially handled by Judge William Alsup, who ruled that while training AI on legally acquired books was fair use, downloading over 7 million books from pirate sites to build a central library was not. Alsup rejected an earlier settlement proposal in September 2025, citing issues with the list of covered works and notification procedures. After Anthropic launched a settlement website and published an eligible works list, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who succeeded the retired Alsup, approved the terms. The settlement covers over 480,000 works, with writers receiving approximately $3,000 per eligible work. Anthropic must also delete the pirated book data. Claims have been filed for over 440,000 works, more than 90% of the covered total. However, some authors and publishers have opted out of the settlement and filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic, which remain pending.","whyItMatters":"The approval sets a record as the largest settlement in U.S. copyright litigation history, but the opt-outs and separate lawsuits mean the legal question of using pirated data for AI training is far from settled.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eJudge Araceli Martinez-Olguin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California formally approved the settlement on July 20, 2026, after Judge William Alsup, who had initially handled the case, retired. Alsup had rejected an earlier settlement proposal in September 2025, citing issues with the list of covered works and notification procedures, and saying the terms were \u0026#34;forced on the writers.\u0026#34;\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome authors opposed the settlement on the grounds that \u0026#34;the settlement amount is insufficient,\u0026#34; \u0026#34;the plaintiffs\u0026#39; attorneys\u0026#39; fees are excessive,\u0026#34; and \u0026#34;some copyright owners are improperly excluded.\u0026#34; These plaintiffs have opted out of the class settlement and filed individual lawsuits against Anthropic, which remain pending.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the plaintiffs\u0026#39; legal team, claims have been filed for over 440,000 works, more than 90% of the covered total. The team noted that this rate far exceeds the typical claim rate of about 10% in class action lawsuits. Anthropic will contribute the $1.5 billion settlement fund in four installments. The company must also delete the pirated book data it held.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"A US federal court approved Anthropic's $1.5B settlement over using 7M pirated books to train Claude. Some authors opted out, calling the payout too low.","twitterPost":"Anthropic's $1.5B settlement for using pirated books in AI training is now final. But not all writers are on board-separate lawsuits are still pending.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"A U.S. federal court has approved a $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and writers who sued over the use of pirated books to train the Claude AI model. The settlement covers over 480,000 works, with writers receiving about $3,000 per work, but some authors have opted out and filed separate lawsuits.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"GIGAZINE\",\"url\":\"https://gigazine.net/news/20260722-anthropics-settlement-book-piracy-ai/\",\"title\":\"Anthropic Settles with Writer Group Over Use of Pirated Books in AI Model 'Claude' Training, but Some Authors Reject Settlement\"},{\"source\":\"GameBusiness.jp\",\"url\":\"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/07/23/27532.html\",\"title\":\"Copyright infringement lawsuit filed by writers against Anthropic, $1.5 billion settlement approved\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":10414,"outputTokens":1285,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1784760105,"createdAt":"2026-07-22T22:31:53.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-07-22T22:35:45.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T22:31:53.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_71277ffe422fd07368f9098e","canonicalTitle":"AnthropicがAIモデル「Claude」のトレーニングに海賊版書籍を使った件で作家グループと和解するも一部の著者は和解を拒否","representativeArticleId":"a_03c16b164ff9143d935cb1e2","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-07-21T22:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-07-22T22:00:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-22T22:35:45.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"GameBusiness.jp","url":"https://www.gamebusiness.jp/article/2026/07/23/27532.html","title":"Anthropic相手に作家らが起こした著作権侵害訴訟、15億ドルの和解案が承認"},{"source":"GIGAZINE","url":"https://gigazine.net/news/20260722-anthropics-settlement-book-piracy-ai/","title":"AnthropicがAIモデル「Claude」のトレーニングに海賊版書籍を使った件で作家グループと和解するも一部の著者は和解を拒否"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["The settlement covers over 480,000 works used by Anthropic to train its AI model Claude.","Anthropic agreed to pay a total of $1.5 billion in settlement funds, paid in four installments.","Writers are expected to receive approximately $3,000 per eligible work.","Anthropic is required to delete the pirated book data it held.","Claims have been filed for over 440,000 works, more than 90% of the covered total."]}