Court Approves Anthropic's $1.5B Copyright Settlement; Fewer Than 400 Authors Reject Deal

A federal judge has green-lit the landmark $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and authors over AI training practices, marking the largest copyright settlement ever reached in the artificial intelligence sector. The decision Monday brings to a close what was previously the largest copyright class-action certification in legal history.

Settlement Stands Despite Author Objections#

The settlement had faced resistance from some members of the plaintiff class in May, who argued the deal was inadequate and fought to block it. Those dissenters maintained that legal fees were excessive while payouts to individual authors were too modest. Despite these objections, US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín determined that complaints lacked sufficient grounds and approved the agreement.

The judge's decision was bolstered by strong evidence of class support: roughly 95 percent of affected authors and publishers received formal notice of the settlement terms, and 91 percent of the class filed claims to participate. Only 350 class members opted out entirely, with another 54 either objecting or submitting late withdrawal requests—a stark testament to broad acceptance.

How Payments Will Be Distributed#

Individual creators are slated to receive approximately $3,000 per work under the framework, a figure the court noted as "four times the minimum statutory damages" available under copyright law. This formula applies across the eligible author pool, with participation rates suggesting most in the class viewed the terms as reasonable.

Court Reduced Both Fees and Lawyer Awards#

While approving the overall settlement sum, Martínez-Olguín trimmed both attorneys' compensation and incentive awards for the three lead plaintiffs. Lawyers had initially sought 20 percent of the fund—roughly $300 million—which was voluntarily lowered to 12.5 percent (approximately $187 million) before trial. The judge went further, capping legal fees at less than 7 percent, amounting to about .