Anthropic’s $1.5 billion copyright settlement — reached after litigation over pirated books used to train its AI — cleared final approval in July. It covers more than 482,000 titles, with authors generally due $3,000 per pirated work.¹

The payment rules look straightforward on paper: authors and traditional publishers split awards 50-50 for books still in print; authors receive the full amount for self-published works or books whose rights had reverted. But as the settlement administrator began flagging competing ownership claims, writers started receiving notices that publishers — and in some cases literary agents — were seeking portions of their money.²

Authors’ complaints have centered on two patterns: publishers claiming books after rights reverted, and claiming 100% of awards where they would be entitled to only half. Mystery writer April Henry said HarperCollins had claimed a title whose rights reverted “at least 17 years ago,” calling the situation “WTF.”¹ Victoria Strauss of Writers Beware said the volume of similar reports and recurring errors suggested something “much more widespread and systemic” than routine glitches.¹

Agents have also drawn fire. Strauss noted that agents are not book rightsholders, while author Courtney Milan said agents seeking settlement percentages should stop.¹

Yet Mary Rasenberger, chief executive of the Authors Guild, has urged writers not to assume bad faith. Her concern, she said, was that publishers may have failed to update catalogs after rights reversions: “not all publishers keep great records.”² She said she did not view the disputes as “a grab by the publishers” or an effort to “screw any author over.”²

That distinction may offer little comfort to writers contesting claims. To receive 100% for a reverted book, the reversion must have occurred before Aug. 10, 2022 — a deadline that makes accurate records, and prompt challenges, decisive.¹