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Authors push back as publishers and agents make claims on Anthropic settlement
TechCrunch • • business
Key Points:
- Authors expecting payments from Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement have reported receiving emails indicating others, including publishers and literary agencies, are claiming their shares.
- The settlement awards $3,000 per pirated work to authors, with payments split 50-50 with publishers if the book is in-print; authors receive full payments if rights have reverted or the book is self-published.
- Complaints highlight publishers claiming payments for reverted rights or demanding full amounts instead of their 50% share, which some attribute to poor recordkeeping rather than intentional misconduct.
- Literary agencies, despite not holding rights, have also been reported to claim portions of the settlement, drawing criticism from authors and industry observers.
- Industry representatives, including the Authors Guild CEO, view these issues as systemic and related to administrative confusion rather than deliberate attempts to deny authors their rightful payments.
