If you are a claimant in the Bartz v Anthropic copyright infringement settlement, you may have received an email this week updating you on the status of your claims. For undisputed claims, you can simply review the email and claim update but do not need to take further steps. “Disputed claims” are ones in which different claimants to a work – usually authors and publishers – are claiming different percentage splits of the payout for that work. When you log in with the claim number and pin they provide to you in the email, you can see what each claimant has put down as to how the payout should be split.

If any of your claims are disputed, the email will tell you that you have 30 days to review the consolidated claim(s) for your work(s) and resolve any differences in how the settlement payment(s) should be allocated. We spoke with the class attorneys and were assured that the 30 days is more a guide than a rule. However, we still recommend you act as soon as possible, especially if you have multiple claims, co-authors and/or publishers. This is a required step in the settlement process.

The “consolidated claim,” accessible through a link in the email you received, shares the settlement payment percentage each co-claimant, including your publisher, believes they are entitled to. Some authors are reporting textbook publisher claims of 85-100%. You do not have to accept that percentage allocation if you disagree with it. You have the right to upload additional documentation in support of your claim, such as a letter confirming rights have reverted to you, or a copy of your contract that you believe supports a different split. You also have the right to meet and confer with your publisher to work out a resolution. Ultimately, if you and your publisher cannot agree on the split, you can request that your claim be reviewed by the Special Master, a neutral third party that has been appointed by the court. If you do not have contact information for your publisher, you can contact the settlement administrator at (877) 206-2314 or info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com to request it.

Textbook authors – called authors of “education works” in the settlement —  were the only group of authors not given the option of a 50/50 default split with their publishers. If you are a TAA member author, you have members-only access to special guidance containing tips and suggestions for looking at your contract to come up with the strongest arguments for what you should receive. This guidance is being provided by fellow TAA member and Board Member Brenda Ulrich, an intellectual property attorney at Archstone Law. Log in to view it here.

In a status report filed with the court by class counsel, they stated that distributions to class members would start no later than November 15, 2026, “for works where all rightsholders are in agreement and where all necessary payment information is provided.”

The report also stated that “After deduction of fees, services awards, and expenses, each Work is allotted approximately $2,203.56 of funds currently in the Settlement Fund, which does not yet include Anthropic’s final payment of $450 million plus interest.” This means that this is the first payment to be made to claimants and that a second payment would be forthcoming once Anthropic makes its final payment, which they are required to make by September 2027. “For any works where multiple claimants do not (or do not yet) agree on the proposed per-work distribution,” according to the Status Report, “payments will begin as soon as possible—after the claimants reach agreement or the disagreement is otherwise resolved by the Special Master—and the amount will be included in either the initial distribution or subsequent distributions.”

If you have any questions, you can contact Kim Pawlak, TAA Executive Director, at Kim.Pawlak@TAAonline.net or the Settlement Administrator at (877) 206-2314 or info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com.