{"schema":"postcutoff/event@1","as_of":"2026-10-15T10:09:00+02:00","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-20-bartz-anthropic-1-5b-settlement-final-approval/","md":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-20-bartz-anthropic-1-5b-settlement-final-approval/index.md","disclosure":{"written_by":"AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code)","editor":"human editor","policy":"https://postcutoff.com/about/"},"license":null,"id":"2026-07-20-bartz-anthropic-1-5b-settlement-final-approval","date":"2026-07-20","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Bartz v. Anthropic: $1.5B settlement final approval","deck":null,"takeaway":"Cal.) granted final approval of the $1.5 billion class settlement in Bartz v.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":4,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":[{"n":1,"title":"Order granting final approval of the class settlement (Bartz v. Anthropic, Dkt. 680, July 20, 2026)","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.434709/gov.uscourts.cand.434709.680.0_5.pdf","type":"docs","group":"primary","domain":"storage.courtlistener.com"},{"n":2,"title":"Bartz v. Anthropic: Order on Fair Use, Judge William Alsup (June 23, 2025, Dkt. 231)","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.434709/gov.uscourts.cand.434709.231.0.pdf","type":"docs","group":"primary","domain":"storage.courtlistener.com"},{"n":3,"title":"CourtListener docket: Bartz v. Anthropic PBC","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69058235/bartz-v-anthropic-pbc/","type":"docs","group":"primary","domain":"courtlistener.com"},{"n":4,"title":"Authors Guild: Court grants final approval of Anthropic copyright settlement","url":"https://authorsguild.org/news/court-grants-final-approval-anthropic-copyright-settlement/","type":"press","group":"press","domain":"authorsguild.org"}],"official":3,"filed":"2026-10-15","updated":"2026-10-15","orgs":["Anthropic"],"title":"Court grants final approval of Anthropic's $1.5B Bartz authors' settlement, the largest copyright class settlement on record","summary":"On July 20, 2026 Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín (N.D. Cal.) granted final approval of the $1.5 billion class settlement in Bartz v. Anthropic, the authors' suit over pirated books downloaded to build Claude's training library. The settlement covers 482,460 works (about $3,000 per work before costs and fees); 91.3% had been claimed by April 16, 2026, and only 350 valid opt-outs were filed. The release covers past conduct only (before Aug 25, 2025), not AI outputs. Class counsel's fee was cut to about 6.8% of the fund.","key_facts":["Order: Bartz v. Anthropic PBC, N.D. Cal. No. 3:24-cv-05417-AMO, Dkt. 680, 'Order granting final approval of class action settlement', dated July 20, 2026, signed by Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín (the case had earlier been before Judge William Alsup)","Works List: 482,460 works; as of April 16, 2026, 440,490 (91.3%) had been claimed; notice reached rightsholders of 482,374 works (99.98%) (Dkt. 680)","Estimated payment about $3,000 per work, less costs and fees, which the court calls four times the statutory minimum (Dkt. 680; Authors Guild: four times the $750 minimum)","350 valid opt-outs covering 1,802 works; 54 objections or comments, all overruled (Dkt. 680)","Release: no claims about AI outputs and no claims about conduct on or after August 25, 2025 (Dkt. 680)","Fees: class counsel asked first for 20% and then 12.5% ($187.5M); the court awarded about 6.8% (~$101.56M), holding back 10% until a post-distribution accounting (Authors Guild)","Background: in June 2025 Judge Alsup ruled that training Claude on books was fair use but that building a central library from pirated copies was not (Order on Fair Use, Dkt. 231); the settlement followed, with preliminary approval in Dkt. 437","Not verified here: the Ninth Circuit appeals from the judgment (notices reported in August 2026; the docket page could not be fetched)"],"key_numbers":[],"tags":["copyright","lawsuit","books","training-data","anthropic","claude","fair-use"],"science":null,"body_md":"## What happened\n\nThe authors' class action against Anthropic ended with the court approving the settlement and entering judgment. The 23-page\norder confirms the preliminary-approval findings, overrules every objection (some from Italian publishers such as Garzanti and\nSalani), strikes objections from non-class members, and approves the claims and distribution plan run by JND. It cuts the fee\nrequest sharply. Court documents unsealed in the same case in January 2026 describe \"Project Panama\", Anthropic's programme to\nbuy and scan print books (see the Nippan entry).\n\n## Why it matters\n\nIt is the largest copyright class settlement on record and sets a price of about $3,000 per pirated book for AI training data,\nwhile leaving untouched Judge Alsup's 2025 ruling that training on lawfully acquired books is fair use. Other rightsholders\n(music publishers, opt-out authors) are suing Anthropic separately.","disputed":[],"related":[{"id":"2026-10-07-nippan-confirms-book-sales-to-anthropic-project-panama","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-10-07-nippan-confirms-book-sales-to-anthropic-project-panama/","date":"2026-10-07","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Japanese wholesaler Nippan confirms it sold books to Anthropic","deck":"U.S. court records list the deal under 'Project Panama'","takeaway":"The supplier itself has now confirmed that Project Panama bought books in Japan, and the court records show the program also paying for books from Taiwan and negotiating with vendors in Korea and Argentina.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":23,"official":6,"filed":"2026-10-07","updated":"2026-10-07","orgs":["Nippan Group Holdings","Anthropic","Japan Book Publishers Association"]},{"id":"2026-09-29-third-circuit-thomson-reuters-ross-fair-use","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-29-third-circuit-thomson-reuters-ross-fair-use/","date":"2026-09-29","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Third Circuit upholds Thomson Reuters' win over Ross Intelligence","deck":"First US appellate ruling rejecting fair use for AI training","takeaway":"Dozens of AI copyright suits (authors, news publishers, music labels) turn on fair use.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":4,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":14,"official":2,"filed":"2026-09-30","updated":"2026-10-07","orgs":["Thomson Reuters","Ross Intelligence"]},{"id":"2026-08-28-music-publishers-sue-anthropic-lyrics","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-08-28-music-publishers-sue-anthropic-lyrics/","date":"2026-08-28","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Sony and Warner publishers sue Anthropic over torrented lyrics","deck":null,"takeaway":"On Aug 28, 2026 the publishing arms of Sony Music and Warner Music, with Hipgnosis and other publishers, sued Anthropic and, personally, CEO Dario Amodei and co-founder Ben Mann in the Northern District of California.","category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":6,"official":4,"filed":"2026-10-15","updated":"2026-10-15","orgs":["Anthropic","Sony Music Publishing","Warner Chappell Music"]},{"id":"2026-08-17-round-hill-sues-suno-anthropic","url":"https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-08-17-round-hill-sues-suno-anthropic/","date":"2026-08-17","date_precision":"day","short_title":"Round Hill Music sues Suno and Anthropic for up to $1B each over training on its songs","deck":null,"takeaway":null,"category":"policy-safety","category_label":"Policy & safety","importance":3,"confidence":"high","status":{"key":"confirmed","labels":["Confirmed"]},"sources":4,"official":0,"filed":"2026-09-29","updated":"2026-09-29","orgs":["Round Hill Music","Suno","Anthropic"]}],"people":[],"posts":[],"videos":[],"models":[],"changes":[{"date":"2026-10-15","type":"filed","text":"Created from order read on CourtListener; Authors Guild for fees"}],"provenance":{"agents":[{"model":"Claude Opus 5.5","maker":"Anthropic","tool":"Claude Code"}],"filed":"2026-10-15","run":null,"sources_read":"Order read on CourtListener; Authors Guild for fees","updated":"2026-10-15","human_review":null,"version":{"date":"2026-10-15"}},"gaps":[{"model_id":"gpt-6-astra","name":"GPT-6 Astra","cutoff":"2026-04","days_after":81,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"claude-opus-5-5","name":"Claude Opus 5.5","cutoff":"2026-06","days_after":20,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"gemini-4-argon","name":"Gemini 4 Argon","cutoff":"2026-03","days_after":111,"in_training_data":false},{"model_id":"grok-4-7","name":"Grok 4.7","cutoff":"2026-05","days_after":50,"in_training_data":false}],"short_url":"https://postcutoff.com/s/bartz-v-anthropic-1-5b"}