Key Points
- Anthropic settles authors’ class-action lawsuit over use of copyrighted material.
- Settlement amount is undisclosed, avoiding a potentially billions‑dollar liability.
- Federal judge ruled training on copyrighted works was fair use but acquisition was illegal.
- Statutory piracy damages start at $750 per work, with millions of works alleged.
- The case follows earlier disputes with the music industry and a partial resolution earlier this year.
- Authors’ lawyer called the settlement historic and beneficial for class members.
Settlement Overview
Anthropic has reached a settlement with a class of authors who sued the artificial‑intelligence firm for using their copyrighted material without permission to train large language models. The settlement amount has not been disclosed, but the agreement spares Anthropic from a potentially far more expensive judgment.
Legal Background
The lawsuit centered on whether Anthropic’s practice of incorporating copyrighted works into its training data constituted fair use. A federal judge issued a mixed ruling, concluding that the use of the works for model training fell under fair use, yet the summary noted that the acquisition of those works was illegal and unpaid, thereby allowing a piracy claim to proceed.
Potential Financial Exposure
The piracy claim carries statutory damages that start at $750 per infringed work. Estimates suggest the company’s library of unlicensed works could number in the millions, raising the theoretical liability into the billions of dollars.
Broader Context
This settlement adds to a growing body of litigation that pits AI developers against content creators. Anthropic is not new to such disputes; the company faced a lawsuit from members of the music industry and reached a partial resolution earlier in the year. The details of the current settlement remain limited, and the final impact on both the authors and Anthropic will become clearer as more information is released.
Statements from Counsel
Justin Nelson, representing the authors, described the settlement as a historic win for the class members and indicated that further details would be announced soon. An update later added a statement from the authors’ lawyer, reinforcing the significance of the agreement.
Source: engadget.com