Anthropic Settlement Moves Forward as Attorneys Address Judge’s Concerns
Attorneys representing authors in the landmark Bartz v. Anthropic class action lawsuit have filed comprehensive responses to address Judge William Alsup’s concerns about the $1.5 billion settlement, potentially clearing the path for approval at the September 25 hearing.
The legal team submitted detailed proposals for payment allocation and an ambitious $15 million publicity campaign designed to reach potential claimants worldwide. The filing comes after Judge Alsup delayed preliminary approval in September, citing concerns about incomplete settlement terms and notification procedures.
The revised settlement proposes “default (non-mandatory) recovery allocations for claimants of trade and university press books, with authors and publishers splitting the per-work award equally in half,” according to the new filing explained by Association of American Publishers CEO Maria Pallante. Co-authors and co-publishers would split their respective shares equally among themselves, with contract-based variations allowed.
For educational titles, the proposal requires claimants to make “a good-faith representation regarding the percentage of recovery that the claimant is entitled to receive for a given work relative to other potential claimants.”
The notification campaign addresses another key judicial concern. Legal administrator JND will deploy multiple outreach tactics including direct mail to 279,000 works filed with the U.S. Copyright Office, social media campaigns, and publication in consumer and trade publications. Several author organizations including the Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have endorsed the agreement.
Named plaintiff Andrea Bartz expressed strong support: “I strongly support this settlement and, in the coming months, I’m committed to helping class members, including my fellow authors, understand the settlement and why it’s such a critical step for those of us who believe that Anthropic violated our copyrights.”
The settlement covers approximately 482,000 eligible works, offering $3,000 per work while allowing authors to opt out if they prefer individual litigation.
What do you think about the revised settlement terms?