Amazon-Backed Anthropic (AMZN) Scores Legal Win in Copyright Clash—Now Battles Book Piracy Storm
Anthropic, the AI darling backed by Amazon, just dodged a copyright bullet—only to walk straight into a book piracy firefight.
Legal whiplash: Fresh off its IP victory, the company now faces a high-stakes trial over alleged content scraping. Publishers are sharpening their knives.
Tech irony: The same AI that aced fair use arguments might’ve gotten too cozy with ‘borrowed’ literature. Wall Street shrugs—another Tuesday in the AI gold rush.
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However, the case isn’t over yet. While the judge dismissed the copyright violation claims, he said that Anthropic will still face trial in December over how it got the books. The company allegedly downloaded them from illegal “shadow libraries” that are full of pirated content, even though it later tried to fix this by buying official digital copies. Judge Alsup said that purchasing the books afterward doesn’t erase the fact that they were first taken without permission. As a result, how the books were originally collected is now a key issue that could affect how much Anthropic may owe in damages.
Still, Anthropic said it was happy with the ruling, especially because it supports the idea that AI training can help encourage creativity and scientific progress. On the other hand, the authors who sued—Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson—claimed that Anthropic built a billion-dollar business by using their work without permission. Nevertheless, the trial in December could help set clearer rules for how AI companies are allowed to gather and use copyrighted material in the future.
What Is the Price Target for AMZN Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Amazon stock based on 46 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average AMZN stock price target of $242.48 per share implies 13.5% upside potential from current levels.
