Tech
Anthropic hit with largest-ever $1.5 billion penalty in copyright lawsuit - court says training AI on published
A U.S.
Key takeaways
- A U.S. federal judge granted final approval of Anthropic's $1.5-billion settlement.
- Training AI on books is considered fair use under copyright law.
- Anthropic violated copyrights by keeping 7 million pirated books in a central library.
- This is the biggest payout in a copyright case ever.
- More than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share.
A U.S. federal judge has granted final approval for Anthropic's $1.5-billion settlement over a class-action lawsuit filed by authors. While the court ruled that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law, it found that Anthropic's central library of 7 million pirated books violated copyrights. Over 91% of eligible authors and publishers accepted the settlement, which averages just over $200 per title, while a dissenting group has opted out to pursue separate lawsuits.
In their words
“We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today.”
By the numbers
- $1.5B
- Anthropic copyright settlement amount approved by a judge
- 7M
- Pirated books kept in Anthropic's central library
- $200
- Approximate payout per title under the settlement
- 91%
- Share of covered authors and publishers claiming payment
- 82TB
- Pirated books reportedly torrented by Meta for training
How it unfolded
- Anthropic reached the settlement after a landmark court ruling
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Common questions
- What happened with Anthropic?
- A U.S. federal judge granted final approval of Anthropic's $1.5-billion settlement.
- Where can I read the original report?
- Read the full report at toms_hardware.
