Anthropic Settles Landmark AI Copyright Case, Avoids Billion-Dollar Risk

Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by U.S. authors alleging unauthorized use of pirated books to train its Claude chatbot. The case, filed in California federal court, marks the first major resolution in a growing wave of copyright litigation targeting AI developers.

Authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson led the suit, claiming their works were copied without consent. While U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled in June that AI training constitutes fair use, he found maintaining a centralized library of pirated material crossed legal boundaries. The settlement spares Anthropic a December trial and potential billion-dollar liability.

This development follows yesterday's report about Perplexity facing lawsuits in Tokyo District Court over alleged unauthorized reproduction of news content. The cases highlight escalating global legal challenges for AI companies regarding content sourcing practices.