Dispute Over the Anthropic Settlement: Authors Face Claims from Publishers and Agents

The massive $1.5 billion settlement by AI company Anthropic has sparked a new wave of controversy among authors. While many writers were awaiting their share of the compensation, a number of them were surprised to receive emails informing them that other parties — publishers and literary agents — had filed claims on the amounts owed to them.

Background of the Legal Settlement

The case has its roots in a class-action lawsuit concerning copyright that was filed against Anthropic. The judge issued an important ruling stating that training AI models on copyrighted material constitutes fair and lawful use, but that obtaining that material through piracy remains unlawful. The settlement received final approval last July, opening the door for compensation to be disbursed to those affected.

Under the terms of the agreement, the authors of roughly 500,000 titles will receive $3,000 for each work that was obtained unlawfully. The distribution mechanism is subject to clear rules:

• If the book is still in print with a traditional publisher, the amount is split evenly between the author and the publisher.
• If the book was published at the author's own expense (self-published), the author receives the entire amount.
• If the author has reclaimed their rights because the book went out of print, they are also entitled to the full compensation.

Authors' Complaints Escalate

Writers quickly began sharing complaints across social media platforms, accusing some publishers of claiming more than their rightful share. April Henry, an author specializing in mystery and thriller novels, was astonished that a major publishing house filed a claim on one of her books whose rights she had reclaimed more than seventeen years ago, and that the same publisher even listed itself as her "employer" despite that never having been the case.

Through the "Writers Beware" blog, which specializes in warning writers, Victoria Strauss explained that the complaints she received fall into two main categories:

• Publishers claiming compensation for works over which they no longer hold any legal rights after the authors reclaimed them.
• Publishers claiming 100% of the compensation despite being entitled to no more than 50%.

Poor Record-Keeping or Deliberate Appropriation?

Strauss was careful not to accuse anyone of bad faith, noting that what can be explained by poor record-keeping should not be attributed to intent. She affirmed that some publishers acknowledged an error had occurred and asked Anthropic to correct it. In the same vein, Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, held that the matter is not an "attempted grab" by publishers, but rather an expected outcome of poor data documentation and confusing settlement procedures.

However, Strauss cautioned that what she observed may be merely a "glimpse through a small crack in an enormous wall." She added that the large volume of matching reports she received within just two days suggests the problem is not merely the routine glitches expected in a process of this scale, but a broader and more systematic flaw.

Literary Agents Enter the Fray

The matter was not limited to publishers, as Strauss noted the arrival of complaints that a number of literary agencies were also filing claims — a surprising development given that agents do not hold ownership rights to the books they sell. Author Courtney Milan expressed her explicit rejection of this behavior, considering agents' claims to a share of the compensation entirely unacceptable.

How Do Authors Object?

The Authors Guild and some writers shared details on how to challenge the distribution of compensation. Among the most subtle points is the matter of the timing of reclaimed rights; for an author to claim 100% of a book, the reclamation of their rights must have taken place before August 10, 2022, the date adopted in the settlement as the "download date."

This incident reveals the complexities inherent in applying large copyright-related settlements in the age of artificial intelligence, and highlights the importance of accurate records and clear procedures to ensure compensation reaches its true rightful recipients.

✦ بقلم فريق دروب أيديا