Judge Delays Approval of Anthropic's $1.5B Copyright Settlement Amid Objections

A federal judge has delayed final approval of Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement, the largest in US history, after authors and class members raised objections. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin declined to rubber-stamp the deal on Thursday, seeking clarification on why some class members objected and opted out. Objectors argue that lawyers' compensation of over $320 million is excessive compared to the $3,000 payout per author. Pierce Story, an author of two works covered by the settlement, estimated lawyers could receive $10,000–$12,000 per hour, citing a T-Mobile case where a lower fee award was deemed unreasonable. Story accused lawyers of breaking a promise to tie compensation to member payouts and noted that many eligible authors have not registered. The settlement addresses Anthropic's use of pirated books to train AI.