View source for News Carreyrou v Anthropic Copyright Opt Out Lawsuit 2026

'''April 2026 — Author John Carreyrou Leads Opt-Out Copyright Lawsuit Against Anthropic and Other AI Companies'''

Bestselling author John Carreyrou and other writers who opted out of the Bartz v. Anthropic class action settlement have filed an omnibus copyright infringement lawsuit against Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI, and Perplexity AI, alleging their copyrighted works were used to train AI models without authorization or compensation.<ref name="chatgpt">[https://chatgptiseatingtheworld.com/2026/03/02/judge-p-casey-pitts-gets-reassigned-john-carreyrou-v-anthropic-copyright-suit/ Judge P. Casey Pitts Gets Reassigned — John Carreyrou v. Anthropic Copyright Suit, ChatGPT Is Eating the World, March 2, 2026]</ref><ref name="docket">[https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/3:2025cv10897/461656 Justia: Carreyrou v. Anthropic, Case No. 3:25-cv-10897]</ref>

== The Opt-Out Litigation ==

The case (''Carreyrou et al. v. Anthropic PBC et al.'', Case No. 3:25-cv-10897) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, by authors who chose not to participate in the '''Bartz v. Anthropic''' $1.5 billion class action settlement covering approximately 500,000 titles. The opt-out deadline was January 29, 2026, and these plaintiffs are pursuing individual statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work rather than accepting the class settlement terms.<ref name="authorsalliance">[https://www.authorsalliance.org/2026/01/27/ai-class-action-litigation-update-books-where-things-stand-in-early-2026/ AI Class Action Litigation Update: Books — Where Things Stand in Early 2026, Authors Alliance, January 27, 2026]</ref><ref name="writerbeware">[https://writerbeware.blog/2026/04/10/anthropic-copyright-settlement-april-update/ Anthropic Copyright Settlement: April Update, Writer Beware, April 10, 2026]</ref>

== Named Defendants ==

* '''Anthropic PBC''' — Training Claude on copyrighted books
* '''Google''' — Use of copyrighted works in AI training
* '''Meta Platforms''' — Use of copyrighted works in LLaMA training
* '''xAI''' — Use of copyrighted works in Grok training
* '''Perplexity AI''' — Use of copyrighted works in AI search models

Claims against OpenAI were initially included but have been severed and transferred to multidistrict litigation (MDL), separate from the remaining omnibus case.<ref name="chatgpt" />

== Procedural Developments ==

* The case was originally assigned to Judge William Alsup (who retired end of 2025), then Judge Trina Thompson (who recused herself), and is now before '''Judge P. Casey Pitts''' as of March 2, 2026.<ref name="chatgpt" />
* '''Anthropic sought severance''' on March 25, 2026. Judge Pitts may soon rule on severing additional defendants from the omnibus case.<ref name="chatgpt" /><ref name="docket" />
* The Bartz v. Anthropic settlement final fairness hearing is scheduled for '''May 14, 2026'''.<ref name="societyofauthors">[https://societyofauthors.org/2026/01/20/anthropic-list-of-stolen-works-published/ Anthropic: List of Stolen Works Published, Society of Authors, January 20, 2026]</ref>

== Significance ==

The Carreyrou case represents a significant fork in AI copyright litigation: while the class settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic provides a path for most affected authors, opt-out plaintiffs are pursuing potentially higher damages through individual litigation. The omnibus structure suing multiple AI companies simultaneously also creates unique procedural challenges around severance and coordination.

== See Also ==

* [[Carreyrou v Anthropic PBC]] — Full case page
* [[Kadrey v Meta Platforms Inc]] — Related AI copyright case against Meta
* [[BMG Rights Management v Anthropic PBC]] — Music publisher's copyright case against Anthropic
* [[News Anthropic-1.5B-Settlement-2026|Anthropic $1.5B Settlement]] — Bartz v. Anthropic class action settlement

== References ==

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[[Category:Copyright Litigation]]
[[Category:Cases Against Anthropic]]
[[Category:Cases Against Google]]
[[Category:Cases Against Meta]]