Judge Delays Anthropic's $1.5B Copyright Settlement Amid Concerns Over Attorney Compensation

Summary

A federal judge has delayed final approval of what would be the largest copyright settlement in US history—Anthropic's $1.5 billion agreement to resolve claims over book piracy used to train AI models. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin halted the settlement's approval on Thursday after authors and class members filed substantial objections, requesting the court better understand the concerns before moving forward.

Objectors argue the settlement disproportionately benefits the legal team over the harmed authors. Anthropic's legal counsel has requested more than $320 million in attorney fees—roughly $10,000–$12,000 per hour when annualized—while individual authors are expected to receive approximately $3,000 each. Objectors contend the lawyers should have pursued "creative options" to secure higher author payouts rather than "settling far too quickly" to maximize their own compensation.

The controversy exposes fundamental tensions in large class-action settlements. Some class members argue that lawyers' compensation should be tied to the number of actual claimants rather than the total settlement fund. An attorney confirmed that authors and copyright holders have filed claims covering over 92% of the 480,000 works included, but many remain uncompensated. Legal experts warn the settlement may not survive an appeal if the court doesn't re-examine the terms.

The judge's delay comes as a separate group of 25 class members has already opted out of the settlement and filed a new lawsuit, signaling continued litigation and uncertainty around Anthropic's copyright liabilities.

• Judge signals willingness to entertain stronger objections, with warnings that the settlement may not survive an appeal if terms aren't re-examined; separate lawsuits already filed by opt-out class members