Anthropic Copyright Settlement Options
Duncan Firm
Was Your Book Illegally Pirated By AI Company Anthropic? Consider all your options before you accept any settlement money. Contact us today to learn more. Even if your book is not on the Anthropic class action settlement list, you may still have a claim. Only a fraction of the books Anthropic pirated are eligible for the class action settlement. We can help you search for your book(s) and offer a complimentary consultation.
A settlement is being finalized in a class action copyright lawsuit that claims Anthropic, an AI company founded by former employees of Open AI that owns and operates Claude, a large language learning model (LLM), infringed copyrights by copying books from pirated online datasets called Library Genesis (LibGen) and Pirate Library Mirror (PiLiMi). A third pirated site known as Books3 is not in the class, but you may have a claim if your book is on this list. As an author who may have had your book pirated by Anthropic, you may be curious about your rights.
The settlement estimates that rightsholders for each book may be compensated with up to $3,000 and that it may take years before the money is paid. Many well-known authors are choosing to “opt out” of the Anthropic settlement to pursue maximum damages under the Copyright Act, which is up to $150,000 per registered book.
According to the settlement documents, “your legal rights may be affected whether you act or not. You have the following options: (1) submit a valid claim by March 30, 2026 to receive payment, (2) opt out of the Settlement Class by January 15, 2026, (3) object to the Settlement by January 15, 2026, or (4) do nothing.”
The current settlement provides for approximately $3,000 per book. Keep in mind you may have to split this with your co-copyright owners, publisher, manager and/or agent. You are a Class Member if you are the legal or beneficial owner of a work that was included in the LibGen or PiLiMi datasets downloaded by Anthropic; your book has an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN); your book was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office within five years of first publication; and was registered before being downloaded, or within three months of first publication. A searchable database of all works covered by the Settlement is available at www.AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com/lookup.
You do not have to accept $3,000 per book. If you reject the $3,000 settlement, you may pursue your own case and do what is known as “opting out.” You must hire your own lawyer for this at your own cost. Contact us to help guide you through the process and evaluate your options.
To pursue an individual case against Anthropic, your book or book(s) must have been illegally copied from the databases Anthropic copied and trained its model, Claude. To see if your book(s) is included in this class settlement, Search Here.
However, your book may be in Anthropic’s pirated central library but not be on the list for the settlement for various reasons. We can help you confirm this and analyze whether you have a claim.
Once you identify that your book(s) is in the database, you can then explore whether to pursue an individual case against Anthropic. The deadline to make an initial decision to opt-out is currently scheduled for January 15, 2026. This date may be changed by the Court. Notice to the class is scheduled to go out on or about December 1, 2025.
Keep in mind: there is no guarantee of getting more than $3,000, or any recovery at all, but the law does allow you to seek up $150,000 per book by opting out and pursuing your own claim for your book. Some authors are opting out some books and submitting a claim for other books they own. This is a personal choice only you can make. You do not need a lawyer to help you submit a settlement claim and should not pay one to do so.
If you are interested in learning more about pursuing an individual case, please email James Bartolomei to schedule a complimentary call to discuss your options.
James Bartolomei has been lead trial counsel on several notable copyright infringement cases and regularly represents copyright holders in federal court, with more than 20 years of litigation experience. Read More
Follow this link to learn more about the case settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic PBC, No. 3:24-cv-05417-WHA (N.D. Cal.). https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/.
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