Hustler Words – A wave of discontent is sweeping through the literary community as authors, anticipating their portion of Anthropic’s substantial $1.5 billion copyright settlement, report receiving unexpected notifications indicating that other entities are laying claim to their payments. This development follows last year’s landmark class action suit against Anthropic, where a judge affirmed the legality of training AI models on copyrighted material under fair use, but deemed the act of pirating that material unlawful. The settlement, which received final approval in July, paved the way for payouts to commence.
The terms of the agreement dictate that creators of nearly 500,000 titles are eligible for $3,000 per pirated work. For books currently in print with a traditional publisher, the compensation is to be split equally between the author and the publisher. However, if a book was self-published or if the rights had reverted to the author due to it going out-of-print, the author is entitled to the entire payment.
Yet, a growing chorus of writers has taken to social media, alleging that publishers are asserting claims beyond their rightful share. April Henry, a prominent mystery and thriller author, publicly questioned HarperCollins’ actions, stating they claimed one of her books in the Anthropic Settlement whose rights had reverted over 17 years ago. She further noted an alarming credit alert indicating HarperCollins had been added as her "employer," a status she vehemently denied.
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Victoria Strauss, a respected voice at the popular blog Writers Beware, has corroborated these concerns, detailing two primary categories of complaints: publishers seeking payment for works where rights have clearly reverted to the author, and instances where publishers demand a full 100% payment despite only being entitled to a 50% split.
While Strauss expressed reluctance to attribute these discrepancies to malicious intent, suggesting poor record-keeping as a plausible explanation, she also noted that some publishers have already acknowledged errors and requested Anthropic to rectify them. Similarly, Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger, in a statement to The New York Times, downplayed the situation, characterizing it as a byproduct of inadequate record management and a complex settlement process rather than a deliberate "grab by the publishers."
Despite these explanations, Strauss emphasized that the volume and consistency of reports suggest a more systemic issue than mere routine glitches. "The unusually large number of reports I’ve received over the last two days, as well as the fact that authors are reporting the exact same errors over and over, suggest to me that these aren’t the kind of routine glitches you might expect from such a large operation, but something much more widespread and systemic," she wrote.
The complications don’t end with publishers. Strauss also reported complaints regarding literary agencies making claims, a surprising development given that agents typically do not hold rights to the books they represent. Author Courtney Milan (Heidi Bond), a former law clerk and professor, minced no words on Bluesky, condemning such actions: "Apparently some agents are trying to claim percentages on the Anthropic settlement, and I do not REMOTELY think they should do this, what the fuck, stop that shit!"
Both Milan and the Authors Guild have provided guidance for authors looking to dispute payment allocations. A critical detail for authors seeking 100% of a book’s settlement is that the rights reversion must have occurred before August 10, 2022, which is designated as the "download date" within the settlement terms. This ongoing dispute highlights the intricate challenges of intellectual property in the age of AI, underscoring the need for clear communication and robust record-keeping across the publishing ecosystem.
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