Anthropic Corporation Settles Legal Dispute with Authors Over Copyright Violations
An artificial intelligence (AI) company, Anthropic, has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by a group of U.S. authors. The lawsuit, one of several brought against companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms over their AI training, alleged that Anthropic's AI training infringed on the copyrights of the authors.
Justin Nelson, the authors' attorney, stated that the settlement will benefit all class members. However, the terms of the settlement were not disclosed in the court filing. The settlement details will be announced in the coming weeks.
The illegal downloading of up to 7 million books from pirate websites could have potentially made Anthropic liable for billions of dollars in damages if the authors' case was successful. The exact value of the damages Anthropic is seeking to settle with authors is about 1.5 billion US dollars, offering approximately 3,000 dollars per affected work as compensation for unauthorized use of around 500,000 books and texts in training their AI chatbot Claude.
The lawsuit alleged that Anthropic, backed by Amazon and Alphabet, unlawfully used pirated books without permission or compensation for AI training. U.S. District Judge William Alsup found that while Anthropic made fair use of authors' work for AI training, it violated their rights by saving millions of pirated books to a 'central library'.
The trial, scheduled to begin in December, was set to determine the damages Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, whether Anthropic's actions constituted willful copyright infringement, and whether the AI companies' systems make fair use of copyrighted material to create new, transformative content. Under U.S. copyright law, willful copyright infringement can justify statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work.
Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson filed a class action lawsuit against Anthropic last year, accusing the company of piracy. The settlement marks the first in a series of major AI copyright lawsuits in the United States.
As the AI industry continues to grow, so does the debate over the use of copyrighted material for AI training. The settlement between Anthropic and the authors could set a precedent for future cases and the balance between innovation and respect for creators' rights.
Read also:
- AI-Powered X-Nave Platform and Fresh Gaming Content to be Demonstrated by EGT Digital at SBC Summit Lisbon Event
- British technology company Nvidia invests a vast sum of £11 billion in AI technology within the U.K., announcing this during a visit by U.S. President Trump.
- Rapid advancement of AI technology poses potential threat to job stability, according to AI CEO's remarks.
- Spheron and Nubila Team Up to Use Web3 Technology for AI that Combats Climate Change
