Frequently Asked Questions about the Anthropic/AI Settlement

Please note that all answers are based on the settlement documents as of October 2, 2025.

SFWA’s Advocacy Team, which includes Board, Legal Affairs, and Contracts personnel, is following closely new data as it emerges in the Anthropic/AI settlement: a legal matter that affects tens of thousands of authors in our industry, among many others. We have assembled here a first set of FAQs. Please also fill out our survey if you have been impacted by Anthropic downloads.

Some important considerations:

• This matter is far from concluded, so we may reasonably expect that it will take time to receive all necessary answers to questions as they arise.
• The fullness of our next steps as authors may similarly take time to present themselves.
• SFWA will inform our writing community of potential action items as they arise.
  In mid-October, SFWA will provide a more detailed FAQ around making your claim in this settlement.
• Please write to office@sfwa.org with ADVOCACY FAQ in the subject line, to request further inclusions for our next update.
• We ask that you share information about this situation with as many authors as you can, but only from trusted sources. Be cautious around sources that overpromise on author outcomes and deliverables.
• The Anthropic Copyright Settlement website is our most reliable source of information at this time.
• Not all impacted authors will receive compensation, and compensation will vary significantly even among those whose works appear in the official List of Works. As we move forward, we will take insights from this case into future rounds of writer education, advocacy, and defense. The work goes on.
• We are here for you. Keep writing.

What is the Anthropic Settlement?

Three authors filed a class action lawsuit against the artificial intelligence corporation Anthropic PBC, asserting that Anthropic had violated their copyrights by creating its Large Language Model (LLM) using their copyrighted works. During the course of the litigation, it was discovered that Anthropic had used works downloaded from pirate websites including Library Genesis (LibGen) and Pirate Library Mirror (PiLiMi). The judge found that using the works to develop the LLM was not a violation of their copyrights but downloading works from pirated sources was. The authors and Anthropic reached a negotiated settlement agreement, which was approved by the court on September 25, 2025.

What works are included in the settlement?

The definition of works included in the settlement is: “All beneficial or legal copyright owners of the exclusive right to reproduce copies of any book in the versions of LibGen or PiLiMi downloaded by Anthropic. “Book” refers to any work possessing an ISBN or ASIN which was registered with the United States Copyright Office within five years of the work’s publication and which was registered with the United States Copyright Office before being downloaded by Anthropic, or within three months of publication. Excluded are the directors, officers and employees of Anthropic, personnel of federal agencies, and district court personnel.” For all practical purposes, the only works that are in the settlement are text works included in the List of Works, a comprehensive searchable database. This list differs substantially from the list on The Atlantic’s website and only contains works that were downloaded by Anthropic from LibGen and PiMiLi before August 10, 2022. 

My book should be included but isn’t.

See Question 51 at the Anthropic Copyright Settlement website.

What does “All beneficial or legal copyright owners of the exclusive right to reproduce a book” mean?

Authors automatically acquire the exclusive right to reproduce their work and are the legal owners of that work, unless they have licensed this exclusive right to a publisher and receive royalties from the publisher for publication. In that case the publisher becomes the legal copyright owner and the author becomes the beneficial owner. Exceptions include work made for hire (where the publisher is legally the author) and works where only non-exclusive rights are licensed.

How do I tell if I am affected?

The official List of Works is available on the Anthropic Settlement website. Search it for your name or pseudonym and any titles for which you think you may be either the legal or the beneficial owner. 

If I have a work in the List of Works and have filled out the form at the Anthropic Settlement website, what will happen next?

You should receive an official Claim Form to fill out within a few weeks. You can claim your works on the settlement right now, however, at this link.  SFWA will publish another FAQ with detailed information on making your claim in mid-October. There is no advantage to filing your claim right away, and additional information about how to deal with non-default situations may be coming from SFWA and other writers organizations.

How much will be paid to claimants whose work is on the List of Works?

The current estimate for each work is at least $3,109.06 (US) based on the number of works on the final list. This amount will be split between author(s) and publisher according to either a default percentage or a percentage based on the publishing contract. An amount estimated to be no more than 25% will be deducted to pay the attorney’s fees. The amount paid out is based on the fact of infringement and will be the same no matter the length or number of copies sold. 

How will payments for a specific infringed work be split between author and publisher? 

The default split is 50/50 for a traditionally published book with a standard contract. So a book by a single author with a default publishing contract will receive at least $3,109.06 – 25% (lawyers) – 50%(publisher) = $1,165.90.  If there are more than two claimants on the work (for example, a collaborative work where all contributors are copyright owners.), the author’s amount will be split equally between collaborators. For non-default situations, the split will be determined by the situation and contract and can vary. We’ll have more on that in the next FAQ.

What about self-published works, works whose rights have been reverted by the author(s), or works whose contracts have terminated?

In those cases, the author(s) will receive the entire amount (less lawyer’s fees). Independently published works should be included if the author registered the copyright with the Copyright Office during the applicable time periods. To find out if a work is registered, you can search Public Records, but remember that the List of Works is the final authority.

My publisher didn’t register my work. Does this mean the book isn’t included?

Unfortunately, yes. Contact your publisher to see if they will make amends, but check the List of Works to make sure first.

What recourse is there for self-published authors who hadn’t copyrighted their work?

For this particular lawsuit with the class defined to include registered copyrights, there is no recourse. (This is also true of traditionally published authors whose work wasn’t registered.) Again, be sure and check the List of Works to be sure.

How long is this likely to take before I get paid?

There’s still a long journey ahead. Payments will be made no earlier than Summer 2026.

Where can I learn more?

The best source for the details of the settlement is on the FAQ page the Anthropic Settlement website, accessible here. For more background and analysis check out Writer Beware’s September 26 post, “Bartz v Anthropic Settlement: An Update for Authors” and the Author Guild’s own FAQ section, “What Authors Need to Know about the Anthropic Settlement”.