Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement FAQ

Bartz v. Anthropic is a class action lawsuit, where named plaintiffs sued Anthropic over use of their works to train Anthropic’s AI models.  The parties have preliminary approval of a settlement, pending final approval by the court (A final approval Fairness Hearing is currently scheduled for April 23, 2026).  If the settlement is approved, it will bind all class members that have not opted out by the deadline. Those class members will receive a portion of the settlement funds in exchange for giving up specific rights (the Released Claims). Importantly, Anthropic, in agreeing to the settlement, has denied any wrongdoing, and the infringement question has not been adjudicated. This settlement does not create any precedent that is binding on future courts, who may one day find that such use is non-infringing.

Many authors are entitled to payment through the potential settlement. For authors who may not be aware of the settlement or their rights under it, or who are considering how to proceed, we’ve drafted this brief FAQ. The complete, official information is found on the settlement website.  The information here is not meant as a replacement for the FAQ provided on the settlement website, but rather as a distillation of some of the information found there, with some additional information that may be useful to authors. If you have a question, especially if the answer cannot be found here or on the settlement webpage, please email us at info@authorsalliance.org with the subject line “Bartz FAQ suggestion.” We will be updating this page as more questions develop.

  1. How do I know if I am part of the settlement class?

Class members are those whose works appear in the works list arrived at by the parties. Those are works that Anthropic copied from the LibGen and Pirate Library Mirror databases. If you are an author or publisher of a work in that works list, then you are a class member and you are bound by the settlement as to Anthropic’s use of those works.

To see if you are a class member, we recommend starting with the Anthropic Works List lookup tool. If you don’t find your work via the lookup tool, but you believe your work falls within the class, we recommend contacting the Settlement Administrator. (877-206-231; info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com)

  1. What are critical deadlines for this settlement?

January 15, 2026: Deadline to Opt Out or Object.

  • If you object, you may also file a Claim Form to receive a payment from the Settlement.
  • If you exclude yourself and all other rightsholders from the Settlement, you cannot object to it, and other legal and beneficial owners of your works also cannot object to the Settlement.

March 30, 2026: Deadline to file a Claim Form.

Note that these dates have changed recently and may change again. Check the settlement website for the most up to date information.

If you do nothing, there is a significant chance you will not receive a payment from the Settlement, and you will give up your rights to sue Anthropic for the claims this Settlement resolves.

  1. What are my options in the settlement?

    If you are a member of the settlement class, you have, essentially, two decisions to make:
  1. Whether to opt out of the settlement—if you opt out of the settlement, you will preserve your right to sue Anthropic over the covered uses, and you will not receive a payment from the settlement if it is approved. 

If you opt in, you waive your right to sue and may receive a payment from the settlement fund. Here, you have three options—you may:

  1. File a claim—if you file a claim for payment under the settlement, you have opted into the settlement.
  2. Opt out—if you wish to opt out you should do so by the January 15 deadline, using the opt out form. 
  3. Do nothing—if you do nothing, you will lose your right to sue and you will receive a payment only if another claimant to the work files a claim. If none of the other claimants files a claim, you will not receive a payment.  We encourage all members of the class to make a decision, one way or the other, unless they truly do not care what happens.
  1. Whether to object to the settlement—if you object to the settlement for some reason, you have the option to file a formal objection opposing the settlement.  If you do not object, you will be presumed to have approved the settlement. To file an objection, you must do so by the January 15 deadline.

NOTE that objecting to the settlement does not affect your rights under the settlement, except to the extent that it may persuade the court to reject the settlement. You may file a claim regardless of whether you filed an objection, and if the settlement is approved your choice will remain binding. 

Again, if you do nothing, both decisions will be made for you. Doing nothing does not leave your options open; it merely leaves the results in the hands of others. If you do not opt out of the settlement by the deadline, you will be presumed to have accepted the settlement, thus waiving any future rights to sue Anthropic for the covered uses.

  1. I have lost the contract I signed with my publisher. How does that affect my claim?

If it’s possible to get a copy of your contract from your publisher, we would recommend asking for a copy. That will be the best way to help you determine your rights regarding the settlement.  

Even if you do not have a copy of a signed contract, the settlement typically presumes a default 50-50 split between authors and publishers. If no parties contest that default split (or are unable to produce documentation supporting a different split), then the settlement money will be divided equally.  

Note:  Authors who are the sole rightsholder in a work (e.g., self-published authors and authors whose rights have reverted or where the contracts have otherwise terminated) will receive the full amount.

  1. What if my work has not been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office?

If your work has not been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, it is not part of the class and you will not find it in the Works List. Among other things, a valid copyright registration makes a rights holder eligible for statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs – these were important considerations for this class.  


We’ve come across one example where a publisher, Macmillan, did not obtain registrations for some works, meaning that those works will not be eligible for settlement funds. Additional detail can be found here and affected authors can email Macmillan at copyrights@macmillan.com.

  1. How is the money split between authors and publishers?

Ultimately, the settlement split will be determined by either the contract between authors and publishers or the default 50-50 settlement split in the absence of other information. “Education Works,” described below, are an exception to this default.  

  1. What are “Education Works” and how are they treated differently?

“Education Work” a term used in the settlement to address the differences between traditional commercial publishers and publishers whose works are primarily aimed at educational purposes. Whether a work is an Education Work has already been determined by the parties and is not subject to negotiation. Works that are “Education Works” are so labeled in the Works list (scroll to the very last column).

The main implication of being designated an Education Work is the way payments are split between contributors. If your work is an “Education Work,” it will not be subject to the default 50-50 split treatment described above. Instead, you are asked to either determine the percentage due to you based on your contract, indicate that you do not know, or make a “good faith” estimate based on information available to you.  

For more information, see questions 22 and 23 of the Settlement website FAQ.

  1. Why might I object to the settlement?

Remember that if you are a member of the class, then the settlement purports to represent your interests. Large classes almost invariably involve members with divergent interests, and in copyright cases that is especially so. The settlement might, in the end, be contrary to your interests. Here is a non-exhaustive list of objections we’ve heard from Authors Alliance members to the settlement:

  • The default allocation of 50% payouts to publishers is unfair; 
  • For certain categories of books (e.g., ones that are CC licensed), the class representatives position are antagonistic to the authors; 
  • It is impossible to assess fairness without more transparency and discovery (e.g., what kinds of licensing side deals have publishers made with Anthropic?); 
  • The settlement eliminates the possibility of further judicial review of the court’s fair use ruling (on both sides – some feel it’s too broad, and others think it’s too narrow regarding books downloaded from shadow libraries). 
  1. Why would I want to opt out of the settlement? 

A check from a settlement can be a tempting windfall.  The biggest practical reason not to join the settlement is if you want to hold out the possibility of bringing your own lawsuit.  If you think you might want to do that, you should consult an attorney. This is a decision only you can make. 

Here are some additional considerations: 

  • You can object to the settlement and still make a claim (in fact, again, you cannot opt out and object to the settlement)
  • Claiming the settlement amount and not opting out will offer you a higher degree of certainty and a floor amount to expect (that amount is expected to be above $3,000 per work and would grow if fewer rightsholders participate in the settlement). 
  • If you opt out because you believe this settlement amount is not adequate, you are trading the certainty of the settlement for the lower certainty and additional costs (time and money) of recovering from Anthropic through an alternate path. This may be a choice large rightsholders make (those with many works and sophisticated legal representation) with the goal of a significantly larger recovery. Individuals who choose this path should be aware that it will be a considerable amount of work, could be costly in terms of time and money, and you risk recovering nothing.
  • If you opt out because you think that Anthropic was engaged in fair use and shouldn’t have to pay, remember that your opt out will not result in Anthropic paying less to settle this lawsuit. Anthropic has agreed to pay 1.5 billion dollars, regardless of whether individual rightsholders opt out of the settlement. If you opt out, that will only mean that other rightsholders will be paid more proportionally from your share of the settlement.  
  1. Who can I contact for more information about the settlement? 

Contact information for the Settlement Administrator and lawyers associated with the Class can all be found on the settlement website. You may also email us (info@authorsalliance.org) with any questions for Authors Alliance! If you do, please consider putting “Bartz FAQ suggestion” in the subject line of your email.

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