Judge skewers $1.5B Anthropic settlement with authors in pirated books case
2 days ago
- #legal-settlement
- #AI-training
- #copyright-infringement
- Federal judge criticizes $1.5B settlement between Anthropic and authors over pirated books used for AI training.
- Judge William Alsup raises concerns about the settlement's fairness and transparency, scheduling another hearing for September 25.
- Anthropic allegedly pirated nearly 465,000 books to train its Claude chatbot, with proposed compensation of $3,000 per book.
- Judge Alsup demands a definitive list of pirated books by September 15 and a claims form by September 22.
- Concerns raised about Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers potentially pressuring authors to accept the settlement.
- Authors Guild defends its role, stating it aims to ensure authors' interests are transparently represented.
- Judge Alsup warns the case may still go to trial if settlement issues aren't resolved.
- Maria Pallante of AAP criticizes the judge's understanding of the publishing industry, calling his proposed claims process unworkable.