Settlement of Anthropic lawsuit gets tentative approval (nwu.org)

On Sept. 25, 2025 Judge William Alsup gave preliminary approval to a proposed $1.5 billion settlement resolving some claims in a class-action copyright suit against Anthropic (maker of the Claude models). The deal would pay some writers—roughly $3,000+ for many self-published or rights-reverted single‑author books and $1,500+ for many traditionally published single‑author books—but excludes work‑for‑hire authors entirely, leaves photographers/illustrators unpaid, and only covers a fraction of the millions of works Anthropic copied. The settlement covers just under 500,000 “works” (which can aggregate chapters, stories, poems, etc.), and eligibility is limited to items in specific compilations that have an ISBN/ASIN and timely US copyright registration. For the AI/ML community this matters both legally and operationally: it signals that large damages can be monetized without forcing companies to change training practices, and the limited scope could encourage similar partial settlements rather than systemic reform. Key technical/legal points: authors and publishers are lumped into one class (a point of contention), allocation disputes—who owns exclusive reproduction rights—will likely go to a Special Master, and many creators may not receive notice unless they proactively submit claims. The NWU, not a party to the case, urges writers to check the soon‑to‑be posted searchable list, file claims for full shares, and object if necessary ahead of the final hearing, because preliminary approval can still be contested.