Authors push back as publishers claim shares of Anthropic settlement

Authors expecting payouts from Anthropic's $1.5 billion copyright settlement say publishers are claiming more than their share, weeks after the deal won final court approval in July. The settlement covers nearly 500,000 titles, paying authors $3,000 per pirated work. Payments split 50-50 between author and publisher only when a book is still in print with a traditional publisher; self-published works and books whose rights reverted should pay the author in full.

Mystery author April Henry said HarperCollins claimed one of her books that reverted at least 17 years ago, and that the publisher was added as her employer on a credit alert the same day. The blog Writers Beware said complaints fall into two categories: publishers seeking payment for works whose rights reverted, and publishers claiming a full 100% when they are entitled to 50%.

Both Writers Beware and Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger stopped short of accusing publishers of bad faith, attributing the claims to poor recordkeeping and a confusing process. Some publishers have said the claims are mistakes and asked Anthropic to fix them.