Anthropic Settles Author Copyright Case

Anthropic, an AI company, has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit with US authors alleging copyright infringement. The authors claimed Anthropic used copyrighted books to train its Claude chatbot without permission. Evidence revealed Anthropic downloaded millions of files from pirate websites. The settlement avoids a potential ruling where statutory damages could have amounted to trillions of dollars.

Earlier in June, a judge ruled that using legally purchased and digitised books for AI training constituted fair use. However, the judge also stated Anthropic had no right to use pirated copies. The settlement's terms remain undisclosed, but it is expected to benefit all class members.

This settlement could influence other copyright disputes involving AI companies and copyright owners. Music publishers have a pending lawsuit against Anthropic over song lyric infringement, and evidence from the authors' case could bolster their claims. The settlement allows Anthropic to avoid potentially devastating damages, as the company was recently seeking $10 billion in funding at a $170 billion valuation.