Authors dispute publishers' claims on Anthropic settlement payments

Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement, given final approval in July, pays $3,000 per pirated title for nearly 500,000 books. Where a book is still in print with a traditional publisher, the payment is split evenly; where rights have reverted or the book was self-published, the author receives the full amount.

This week authors reported emails saying that publishers or literary agents had claimed a share of their payments. Author April Henry said HarperCollins claimed a title whose rights reverted to her at least 17 years ago. Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware described two recurring patterns: claims on reverted rights and full claims where only half was due. The Authors Guild attributes the problem to poor record-keeping rather than intent; some publishers have called the claims errors. A dispute process exists; 10 August 2022 is the cut-off date for rights reversions.