Bartz v Anthropic PBC
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Bartz et al. v. Anthropic PBC is a copyright action concerning books copied for Anthropic’s library and Claude training. Authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson brought the claims.[4] Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted final approval of a $1.5 billion class settlement on July 20, 2026, after the May 14 fairness hearing.[5]
Fair Use Ruling (June 23, 2025)
Judge William Alsup granted summary judgment for Anthropic on the training use and on converting purchased print copies to digital copies. He separately denied Anthropic’s request to treat pirated central-library copies as fair use. The authors had not moved for summary judgment; the order set the pirated-copy issues and damages for trial. It therefore did not enter a final infringement judgment for the authors.[4]
Settlement and objections
The approved distribution plan divides each work’s recovery among copyright owners under applicable default splits or publishing agreements. The release covers listed works’ past inputs, excluding AI outputs and conduct on or after August 25, 2025.[5]
Authors Alliance’s April 14 account catalogued objections about excluded foreign works, publisher-favoring allocations, notice, compensation, counsel conflicts and group registrations. These were objectors’ contentions.[6] The July 20 order overruled the settlement objections. It allowed late opt-outs by Esquivel and Castells for excusable neglect while rejecting the other late requests.[5]
On July 22, Bloomsbury Publishing said 14,087 of its titles appear on the court's settlement list. Bloomsbury said the proposed allocation is approximately $3,000 per work before fees and expenses, divided equally between the author and publisher, and that it expects payments to begin in the second half of its financial year.[7][8]
Claim allocation disputes (September 4, 2026)
The Authors Guild reported competing author and publisher claims and acknowledged publisher allocation errors in settlement notices on September 4. It outlined a process of direct negotiation, administrator assistance and, if necessary, referral to a Special Master. This describes the Guild’s guidance, not an adjudication of individual claimants’ entitlements.[9]
Settlement administration (reviewed September 29, 2026)
The settlement administrator says it extended the initial period for co-claimants to provide information about disputed allocations from 30 to 60 days after access to their consolidated claim information. That period is for gathering information and attempting resolution, not a deadline for all co-claimant disputes to end. The administrator expects the first payments for undisputed, fully documented works on or before November 15, 2026; unresolved allocations will be held for later distribution. The administrator describes the settlement's effective date as having passed, subject to any late-filed appeal being permitted to proceed.[10]
Proposed administration updates (October 23, 2026)
In an October 23 joint stipulation, the parties anticipated notices of agreed allocations on or before November 13 and initial settlement payments during the week of November 23, 2026. They sought approval for further settlement-website FAQ updates addressing allocation corrections, co-rightsholder disagreements and the distribution process. The order included in ECF 694 is an unsigned proposed order, so the filing itself does not establish judicial approval of those updates.[3]
The proposed FAQ would give claimants seven days after an allocation-review notice to request that payment for a disputed work be stopped and held for a later distribution. It also describes continuing assistance with unresolved allocations. Its reference to an initial distribution in “mid-November” differs from the week-of-November-23 expectation in the stipulation; the administrator’s public homepage, reviewed October 27, still states an expectation of payments on or before November 15. These are differing stated expectations, not confirmation that payments have begun.[11][12]
Related news
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Court filing / case record, reviewed September 7, 2026
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Court filing / case record, reviewed September 7, 2026
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Joint stipulation and proposed order, ECF 694 (October 23, 2026), pp. 2–3.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 N.D. Cal., Bartz v. Anthropic, ECF 231, June 23, 2025, introduction and conclusion
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 N.D. Cal., Bartz v. Anthropic, ECF 680, July 20, 2026, pp. 1, 4, 6–7, 22–23
- ↑ Bloomsbury Publishing, "$1.5bn Anthropic Settlement Approved" (July 22, 2026)
- ↑ The Next Web, "Bloomsbury among publishers in line for payout from Anthropic’s $1.5bn copyright settlement" (July 22, 2026)
- ↑ Authors Guild, Important Information Regarding Anthropic Copyright Settlement Claim Notices, September 4, 2026
- ↑ Anthropic Copyright Settlement administrator, current status and allocation guidance, reviewed September 29, 2026.
- ↑ Proposed FAQ updates, ECF 694-1 (October 23, 2026), pp. 4–5.
- ↑ Settlement administrator, homepage, reviewed October 27, 2026.