The numbers are in, and they’re striking: authors and rights holders have filed claims for 91.3% of all works covered by the largest copyright settlement in US history. That’s 440,490 out of 482,460 listed works. Roughly 120,000 authors came forward.
What’s this about?
The Bartz v. Anthropic case stems from a lawsuit filed by authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson. The allegation: Anthropic used copyrighted books without permission to train its AI models. In September 2025, both sides agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement — a figure unprecedented in copyright law.
The deadline has passed
The claims deadline expired on March 30, 2026. The fact that over 91% of listed works were claimed shows just how seriously the writing community takes this issue. Major publishers like Penguin Random House and the University of California Press actively informed their authors about the process.
Next up: Fairness Hearing on April 23
On Wednesday, April 23, a federal court in California will decide whether to grant final approval. If the judge signs off, payouts from the $1.5 billion fund will begin.
What this means for the AI industry
This settlement sets a precedent — not just for Anthropic, but for the entire AI industry. When $1.5 billion comes due for training data, the conversation about AI training costs changes fundamentally. OpenAI, Google, and others are watching closely — similar lawsuits are pending against them as well.
The question is no longer whether AI companies will pay for training data, but how much.
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