Publishers, Agents Face Backlash Over Anthropic Settlement Claims

Several authors said this week they received emails notifying them that third parties—including publishers and literary agents—were attempting to claim portions of their payouts from Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement. The notices have triggered a wave of criticism on social media, with writers accusing publishers of overreaching.

The settlement, which won final court approval in July, compensates authors of nearly 500,000 titles used without permission to train Anthropic's AI models. Each pirated work carries a $3,000 payment under the deal.

Under the terms, titles still in print with a traditional publisher split the payment 50-50 between author and publisher. For self-published books or those whose rights have reverted to the author, the writer is supposed to receive the full amount.

However, some authors say publishers are ignoring that structure. Mystery and thriller writer April Henry said HarperCollins claimed one of her books on the settlement that had reverted to her at least 17 years ago. She also noted that the same day, a credit alert showed HarperCollins had added itself as her employer—a designation she disputed.

The complaints add a new layer of contention to the broader dispute over AI training data and creator compensation, even as the landmark settlement moves toward distribution.