Authors are expressing concerns over publishers claiming portions of the $1.5 billion Anthropic copyright settlement. Under the settlement, authors of nearly 500,000 titles are entitled to $3,000 for each pirated work, but disputes have arisen regarding the legitimacy of publishers' claims, especially for works with reverted rights.
Complaints have surfaced about publishers seeking full payments for works they no longer control, as well as literary agencies making claims despite not being rightsholders. The Authors Guild and others are providing guidance on how authors can dispute these claims.
Authors should closely monitor their claims and be prepared to contest any erroneous assertions from publishers or agencies. As disputes unfold, watch for updates from the Authors Guild on best practices for challenging these claims, especially regarding rights reversion dates.