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October 28, 2025

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Participating in the $1.5 Billion Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement

by Rachel Kim

At the end of August 2025, Anthropic agreed to a historic $1.5 billion settlement in the major class-action AI copyright lawsuit, Bartz v. Anthropic. The settlement brings the case to a close with Anthropic having to pay authors handsomely for illegally downloading massive numbers of books from pirate sites. It was a huge victory for authors and copyright owners of all types—but especially those who are part of the class—as it addresses Anthropic’s past infringements, does not give Anthropic permission for future use of copyrighted works, and emphasizes the need for AI companies to move toward a licensed, permission-based access business model.

If you are an author, publisher, or a legal or beneficial owner of works and think the settlement terms might apply to you, here is some general information about class action lawsuits, information about the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement, and the top five things you need to know about participating in the settlement.

Background About Class Action Lawsuits and Why the Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement Matters

Before we discuss the finer points of what you need to know about the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement, let’s take a step back to understand the fundamentals of class action lawsuits and what this particular settlement means in the context of the other 50-plus AI copyright lawsuits that are pending in the U.S.

What is a class action lawsuit?

A class action lawsuit is a legal action brought by a named individual plaintiff (or plaintiffs) on behalf of a group of similarly situated individuals who can make similar legal or factual claims. This group is known collectively as the “class” and individually as “class members.” There are specific, common characteristics in a class that makes an individual a class member. In the Bartz v. Anthropic lawsuit, a class member is a legal or beneficial owner (more on that below) of a book (or books) (with ISBN or ASIN numbers) timely registered with the U.S. Copyright Office that Anthropic pirated from the Library Genesis (LibGen) and Pirate Library Mirror (PiLilMi) datasets. (More details on that below.)

Legal outcomes in a class action lawsuit (such as settlements) will generally apply to all class members. There are some exceptions to this, like in limited situations when a class member opts out. An individual may not receive notice that they are a class member—but if they have the characteristics of the class, they are deemed a class member and will be subject to the legal outcome of the case. Anyone who is not a class member, including those who opt out, are not bound by the legal outcomes of that class action lawsuit and also will not participate in the settlement.

What is the overall significance of the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement?

The Bartz settlement is not only historically one of the largest settlement awards in copyright litigation history, but it also sends a crucial message to other AI companies that they cannot take illegal shortcuts (like using pirated works) and incentivizes them instead to avail themselves of legitimate AI licensing markets for copyrighted works. The settlement demonstrates that copyright licensing is not a death knell of AI. Rather, robust innovative licensing markets for AI use of copyrighted works will be the engine for AI development, sustaining the creators of invaluable AI training data, and inspiring creative AI technologies beyond what we can imagine today. The Bartz v. Anthropic settlement further legitimizes the sustainability of copyright licensing as a valuable part, and not an afterthought, of AI development.

How does Bartz v. Anthropic affect an individual creator or rightsholder like me?

You could be a Class Member in the Bartz v. Anthropic lawsuit, which means the settlement terms affect your rights. But keep in mind that even if you are not a Class Member of this lawsuit, you could still be a class member to any one of the other class action AI lawsuits that are pending in the courts right now. You can learn more by reading below about the top five things you need to know about the Bartz settlement that was approved by the court at the end of September 2025.

Top 5 Things You Need to Know About the ‘Bartz v. Anthropic’ Settlement

1. Checking If You Are a Class Member: Part 1, Searching for Covered Works

    The settlement covers almost 500,000 pirated works that were illicitly used by Anthropic from the LibGen and PiLilMi datasets. The works covered by this class-action settlement are defined as works that:

    • Have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN).
    • Were registered with the U.S. Copyright Office:       
      • within five years of publication; and
      • before being downloaded by Anthropic, or within three months of publication.

    More information on how this list of works was compiled is available in FAQ 7, 49, 50, 51, and 52 on the settlement website.

    Searching for works covered in the settlement’s list is a crucial first step in checking whether you may be a Class Member. The settlement website has a searchable database of qualified works where you can search by different criteria, including ISBN/ASIN, the book title, author, or publisher name. To search the database, only one search term should be used at a time (e.g., only one author name should be searched at a time).

    If you have issues with searching for works, you can reach out to info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com for assistance. More information about searching the database is available on the settlement website’s Search Tips for Works List page.

    Do you have a lot of works to claim? You can email BulkClaimFiling@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com to work with the claims administrator to find a quicker, more efficient way to file your claim.

    2. Checking If You Are a Class Member: Part 2, Understanding Your Interests in the Covered Work

    Another crucial step to determining if you are a Class Member involves understanding whether you are an eligible rightsholder of the work (or works) covered by the settlement. An eligible rightsholder in this settlement includes legal, beneficial, and sole owners of the right to publish and reproduce copies of a work that is covered by the settlement. Essentially, you must be the legal copyright owner or exclusive licensee of the right to publish or reproduce the work, or you must be someone who has exclusively assigned the right in exchange for royalty payments. You do not need to be listed on the original copyright registration certificate to be a Class Member. There could be multiple Class Members for a particular covered work.

    For more information about legal owners, beneficial owners, and sole owners take a look at the settlement website’s FAQs starting with FAQ 5 and also FAQ 18. If you’re still unsure, you can seek help as described in FAQ 9 and FAQ 37.

    Potential Class Members will be sent direct notice via mail or email starting in November—so don’t fret if you haven’t yet received a mailed envelope or email. To see what the official notice looks like, check out a copy of it on the settlement website. But regardless of whether you’ve received a notice, if you think you may be a Class Member, you shouldstill search the database of works provided by the settlement website as outlined above to determine your status.

    3. Considering Your Options as a Class Member

    If, after completing the first two steps, you think that you are a Class Member you should consider your options, which are:

    • file a Claim Form;
    • file an opt-out request to be excluded from the settlement; or
    • do not take any action. Here are the outcomes of each of these options:

    Each action is described in more detail below.

    Option 1: If you file a Claim Form, you will receive a payout from the settlement if you are eligible. This is the best way to ensure you receive compensation from the settlement.

    More information about how settlement payments will be calculated can be found starting with FAQ 12 and in FAQ 21 of the settlement website.

    Filing a Claim Form for a work means that other settlement terms apply in relation to that work, including that Anthropic will destroy all works downloaded from the LibGen or PiLiMi datasets and copies thereof. You would also give up your right to sue Anthropic on certain legal claims including those related to past torrenting activities of the works and training, research, developments of AI products associated with works that are part of the settlement list. The release does not apply to anything Anthropic does after August 26, 2025, or any claims related to infringing outputs from Anthropic’s AI models. Participating in the settlement will not give Anthropic a license to use your work in the future.

    For more information on the benefits of the settlement and what legal claims are being released, check out the information starting in FAQ 11 of the settlement website.

    A Claim Form must be submitted or postmarked by March 23, 2026. You can change your mind after submitting a Claim Form but, if you do, you must withdraw the Claim Form and exclude yourself from the settlement by January 7, 2026.

    Option 2: If you wish to exclude yourself from the settlement, you will need to submit an opt-out request via email or mail. As an excluded Class Member, you will not receive any payment from the settlement for that work. Additionally, if there are other rightsholders to that work, they will all also be opted out of the settlement and unable to receive any money. Excluded Class Members can separately sue Anthropic for the legal claims covered by the settlement. The deadline for opting out of the settlement is January 7, 2026. And if you change your mind and want to be re-included in the settlement, re-inclusion requests must be submitted by March 2, 2026.

    You can learn more about the opt-out process and outcomes from this course of action starting with FAQ 40 on the settlement website.

    Option 3: If you do not take any action, you risk not receiving any payment if all other rightsholders to the work also do nothing about the settlement. Also, by staying in the settlement class you give up your right to sue Anthropic on the legal claims released by the settlement. You might still receive payment if another rightsholder to the work submits a Claim Form that confirms you are a legal or beneficial owner. But again, the best way to ensure you are compensated from the settlement funds is by submitting a claim.

    Detailed information is available in FAQ 46 about the outcomes of not taking any action on the settlement.

    4. Submitting a Claim Form

    To ensure that you receive money from the settlement, you must submit a Claim Form. All Class Members can receive personal assistance completing the Claim Form by contacting the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 877-206-2314, or info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com, or by contacting any of the lawyers listed in response to FAQ 37.

    Class Members are highly encouraged to use the online Claim Form, but you can also mail in a claim form instead, if you so choose. The deadline for the Claim Form is March 23, 2026.

    The Claim Form can be submitted for more than one work—check out FAQ 17 for more information on how to do that. If your search of the Works List Lookup results in a large number of Works, you may reach out to BulkClaimFiling@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com for assistance in reviewing your works and filing a claim. Again, you can change your mind and withdraw the Claim Form and opt out of the settlement but must do so by January 7, 2026.

    If you don’t know if you’re the sole copyright owner of the covered work and can claim the entire award, check out the settlement website’s FAQs, for example FAQ 18, for more information and how to fill out the Claim Form. For information on identifying and listing other rightsholders in the Claim Form, check out FAQs 29 and 30.

    If you are unsure, you should still complete the Claim Form, following all applicable instructions.

    If any questions arise, you can contact the Settlement Administrator at www.AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com, 877-206-2314 or info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com, or contact any of the lawyers listed in response to FAQ 37.

    5. Preparing Necessary Documentation

    When you send or after you have sent a Claim Form, you may be asked to submit additional documentation including contracts, publishing agreements, and other relevant written communications. Additional documentation will help the settlement administrator identify all relevant rightsholders and ensure that their share of settlement monies is accurate. It’s important for you to gather relevant documentation sooner in the process to avoid unnecessary bumps and delays in the disbursement of settlement monies and a more streamlined settlement process for all parties involved. The Authors Guild has helpful tips on its webpage about the settlement, outlining how to search for and collect certain documentation, including how to search for and confirm copyright registrations for your works.

    In addition to the many resources noted above, there are many other resources available to help you understand the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement, who may and may not be in the class and what, if any action, you (as a class member) may want to take. These include:

    To stay informed and up-to-date on the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement, AI copyright developments, and the copyright law landscape and how it affects you and your rights as a creator, sign up for the Copyright Alliance’s free Creator Membership and join today. 

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