Bartz v. Anthropic
Whether training on books — including copies from "shadow libraries" — is lawful.
- Plaintiff
- Authors (Andrea Bartz and others)
- Defendant
- Anthropic
- Type
- Copyright
- Status
- Settled — Resolved by settlement — usually with no court ruling on the merits.
- Filed
- Aug 2024
- Court
- U.S. District Court, N.D. California
What’s happening
Authors led by Andrea Bartz sued Anthropic over the use of their books to train Claude, including copies obtained from "shadow libraries." A landmark ruling distinguished training (which the court treated as potentially fair use) from storing pirated copies (which it did not). The parties then settled for about $1.5 billion — widely reported as the largest copyright settlement in U.S. history — covering roughly 500,000 works at about $3,000 each.
Latest: Settled for about $1.5 billion (~$3,000 per work across ~500,000 works) — reported as the largest copyright settlement in U.S. history. A key ruling held that training can be fair use, but storing pirated copies is not.
Sources
Verified Jul 11, 2026.
This page is a neutral summary drawn from public reporting, not legal advice — allegations are allegations until a court decides. Litigation moves fast, so the sources above are the source of truth; confirm the latest there. Spotted an error? Tell us — corrections welcome.