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Anthropic - Multi-Plaintiff Lawsuit for Authors who Opt Out of Class Settlement
In the course of the class action, Bartz v. Anthropic, the AI company admitted to having ripped over 500,000 literary works from the Internet and used them to train their large language models (LLMs). This was all done without any permission from, and without paying any license fees to, the copyright holders of those books. Because the judge in that case rendered an interim decision that found that this action on the part of Anthropic was a clear copyright violation that would result in statutory damages being paid to the class members, the case settled. The class action lawyers accepted a settlement that will result in payments of approximately $3,000 per book for the copyright holders of the pirated works that the AI company used to train their LLMs.
Authors have until January 29, 2026 to opt out of the settlement and reserve the right to bring a separate lawsuit against Anthropic seeking more compensation for the use of their books without their permission to train the AI machines whose raison d'être is to replace them. The issue of whether and how much an AI company should have to pay to license literary works to train their LLMs is existential for the writer community. Many authors have determined that the $3K per book settlement for a perpetual license to use their works to train LLMs is an insult. They have decided to opt out of the settlement and join a multi-plaintiff suit being spearheaded by James Bartolomei of the Duncan Firm. Hrbek Law is providing litigation support based on our expertise in publishing law, and we are advising authors who are considering their options with respect to the class action settlement. As the multi-plaintiff case gets underway in California, we will act as client liaison to the writer plaintiffs with whom the firm has a relationship.
To see if any of your works are covered by the settlement in the Anthropic class action, SEARCH HERE.
If any of your works are on that list, this confirms they were used by Anthropic to train its LLM. To receive the $3,000 per book, you are required to submit a claim by March 30, 2026. If you want to reserve your right to join the multi-plaintiff suit that Hrbek Law is supporting, you must send a formal opt out notice to Anthropic no later than January 29, 2026. If you explore that option and decide you'd prefer to take the class action settlement amount, you can opt back in by March 9, 2026. If you have any questions about your options with respect to the class action and/or if you want to learn more about the new Anthropic lawsuit, how eligible authors can participate and what you stand to gain by doing so, CONTACT US NOW! Time is running short to make your decision, and it is important to ensure that you are making an informed decision.
