Authors are reporting unexpected claims from publishers and literary agencies regarding their shares of the $1.5 billion Anthropic copyright settlement. Under the agreement, authors of nearly 500,000 titles are eligible for $3,000 per pirated work, with a 50-50 split between authors and traditional publishers for in-print books.
Writers have flagged instances where publishers are claiming full payments for books where rights have already reverted to the author, or seeking 100 percent of the funds instead of the agreed 50 percent. Literary agencies are also reportedly attempting to claim portions of these settlements, despite not holding rights to the works.
Industry experts and the Authors Guild suggest these issues stem from poor record-keeping and a complex settlement process rather than intentional misconduct. Some publishers have already acknowledged errors and requested corrections from Anthropic.
To receive the full 100 percent payment, authors must prove that rights reversion occurred before the settlement's download date of August 10, 2022. The Authors Guild is currently providing guidance to writers on how to dispute incorrect payment allocations.