A federal judge has delayed final approval of Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement regarding the use of copyrighted books for AI training, following formal objections from authors and class members. The case, involving allegations of widespread piracy, represents one of the most significant legal battles in the generative AI industry.
On Thursday, US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin declined to grant immediate approval to what is regarded as the largest copyright settlement in US history. Instead, she sought a deeper understanding of why some class members are opting out. She has instructed authors' legal teams to address concerns that the requested attorney fees are disproportionately high compared to the "pittance" offered to the writers themselves.
According to court records, lawyers are seeking over $320 million in legal fees, while individual authors expect a payout of only approximately $3,000 each. Pierce Story, an objector and author of two covered works, argued that "Every dollar that Counsel takes from the Settlement fund is one that is not given to those actually harmed." He urged the court to delay approval until a more equitable compensation plan is structured.
To support his argument, Story estimated that the requested payout equates to an hourly rate of $10,000–$12,000 for the legal team. He cited precedents where even lower rates were deemed excessive by federal courts. While attorneys confirmed that claims have been filed for over 92% of the 480,000 works included in the settlement, objectors maintain that legal pay should be tied to the number of actual claimants rather than the total settlement fund value.
