Authors complain as publishers and agents stake claims to Anthropic settlement payments
Writers expecting compensation from Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement say publishers and literary agencies have filed claims on their shares. The authors describe errors ranging from full 100% claims where only 50% is due to claims on books whose rights had long reverted.
Authors who were expecting payments from Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement say they received surprising notices this week, informing them that another party is claiming part of their money. The class action settlement was reached last year after a court ruled that training AI models on copyrighted works is allowed under fair use, but using pirated copies is not. The deal was finally approved in July, clearing the way for payments.
Under the agreement, authors of nearly 500,000 titles are entitled to $3,000 for each pirated work. If a book is still in print with a traditional publisher, the payment is split 50-50 between the author and the publisher. For self-published works, or books whose publisher reverted the rights and let them go out of print, the author should receive the full amount.
Writers have taken to social media to complain that publishers seem to be claiming more than their fair share. Author April Henry, who writes mysteries and thrillers, questioned HarperCollins’ actions, saying the publisher claimed one of her books despite the rights having reverted at least 17 years ago. She also noted she received a credit alert saying HarperCollins had been added as her employer, which was never true.
Victoria Strauss, who runs the popular Writers Beware blog, said she has received author complaints within two broad categories: publishers seeking payment for works they no longer hold rights to, and publishers claiming 100% of a payment when they are only entitled to 50%. Strauss told readers she is reluctant to attribute the problems to malicious intent, since poor recordkeeping could explain many cases. Some publishers have already admitted the mistakes and asked Anthropic to correct them.
Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger also told The New York Times she does not see this as a “grab” by publishers, nor does she believe publishers are trying to harm authors. Instead, she called it a predictable result of bad recordkeeping and a confusing settlement process. Strauss acknowledged her sample is just a small glimpse, but noted the unusually high number of reports over the last two days and repeated patterns point to widespread, systemic issues rather than routine glitches.
Publishers are not the only ones seeking a cut. Strauss said she has received complaints that literary agencies are also making claims, even though agents are not rightsholders in the books they sell. Writer Courtney Milan, the pen name of former law clerk and law professor Heidi Bond, posted on Bluesky that agents should not claim percentages from the settlement. Milan and the Authors Guild have shared details on how authors can dispute payment allocations. To claim a full 100% share on a book, the rights reversion must have occurred before August 10, 2022, which the settlement treats as the “download date.”
