HomeJudge Halts Anthropic's $1.5B Book Piracy Settlement
A federal judge has temporarily halted the $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and authors over book piracy concerns, citing issues with the agreement's terms. In a recent hearing, Judge William Alsup expressed reservations that class action attorneys might be forcing a backroom deal "down the throats of authors," as reported by Bloomberg Law and the Associated Press.
The landmark settlement, agreed upon by Anthropic last week, would have resolved a class action lawsuit filed by U.S. authors. They alleged the AI company trained its models on hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books. Judge Alsup previously allowed the case to proceed, ruling that Anthropic’s use of legally purchased books for AI training constituted fair use, though using illegally sourced material could leave the company liable.
Beyond his worries about authors being pressured into the deal, Alsup stated he requires further details about the claims process described in the settlement. "I have an uneasy feeling about hangers on with all this money on the table," the judge remarked, according to Bloomberg Law.
The proposed settlement would grant authors and publishers roughly $3,000 per eligible work. An attorney for the authors noted that approximately 465,000 books could qualify, but Judge Alsup requested a definitive count to prevent future lawsuits from "coming out of the woodwork." He emphasized that class members must receive "very good notice" to ensure they are informed about the case.
Maria Pallante, CEO of the Association of American Publishers, which supports the authors’ lawsuit, told AP that Alsup "demonstrated a lack of understanding of how the publishing industry works." She added that class actions should resolve disputes, not create new conflicts among the affected parties. The authors’ attorney, Justin Nelson, assured Bloomberg Law that the legal team is committed to ensuring "every single proper claim gets compensation."
Judge Alsup will review the settlement again in a hearing scheduled for September 25th. According to the AP, he commented, "We’ll see if I can hold my nose and approve it."
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Comments (3)
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![StevenGonzalez]()
Interesting to see how AI companies are navigating copyright issues. This case could set a big precedent for how training data is handled. Hope it leads to clearer rules for everyone involved. 🤔
![NicholasTaylor]()
法官喊停這筆15億美元的協議，看來AI公司用書訓練模型的法律爭議還遠未結束。William Alsup法官的質疑很關鍵——這種和解真的能保障作者權益嗎？感覺這只是把更棘手的版權問題往後推了而已。🤔
![NoahSmith]()
Interesting how AI copyright battles are becoming the new entertainment courtroom drama! But seriously, is a $1.5B settlement a real solution or just a pricey band-aid for a systemic issue? Makes you wonder who really profits from these deals.
A federal judge has temporarily halted the $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and authors over book piracy concerns, citing issues with the agreement's terms. In a recent hearing, Judge William Alsup expressed reservations that class action attorneys might be forcing a backroom deal "down the throats of authors," as reported by Bloomberg Law and the Associated Press.
The landmark settlement, agreed upon by Anthropic last week, would have resolved a class action lawsuit filed by U.S. authors. They alleged the AI company trained its models on hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books. Judge Alsup previously allowed the case to proceed, ruling that Anthropic’s use of legally purchased books for AI training constituted fair use, though using illegally sourced material could leave the company liable.
Beyond his worries about authors being pressured into the deal, Alsup stated he requires further details about the claims process described in the settlement. "I have an uneasy feeling about hangers on with all this money on the table," the judge remarked, according to Bloomberg Law.
The proposed settlement would grant authors and publishers roughly $3,000 per eligible work. An attorney for the authors noted that approximately 465,000 books could qualify, but Judge Alsup requested a definitive count to prevent future lawsuits from "coming out of the woodwork." He emphasized that class members must receive "very good notice" to ensure they are informed about the case.
Maria Pallante, CEO of the Association of American Publishers, which supports the authors’ lawsuit, told AP that Alsup "demonstrated a lack of understanding of how the publishing industry works." She added that class actions should resolve disputes, not create new conflicts among the affected parties. The authors’ attorney, Justin Nelson, assured Bloomberg Law that the legal team is committed to ensuring "every single proper claim gets compensation."
Judge Alsup will review the settlement again in a hearing scheduled for September 25th. According to the AP, he commented, "We’ll see if I can hold my nose and approve it."
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Interesting to see how AI companies are navigating copyright issues. This case could set a big precedent for how training data is handled. Hope it leads to clearer rules for everyone involved. 🤔
法官喊停這筆15億美元的協議，看來AI公司用書訓練模型的法律爭議還遠未結束。William Alsup法官的質疑很關鍵——這種和解真的能保障作者權益嗎？感覺這只是把更棘手的版權問題往後推了而已。🤔
Interesting how AI copyright battles are becoming the new entertainment courtroom drama! But seriously, is a $1.5B settlement a real solution or just a pricey band-aid for a systemic issue? Makes you wonder who really profits from these deals.
