Last Updated December 15, 2025

Information for Agents and Creators

Educational materials: Not Legal Advice

This educational resource was created by the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and is supported by member dues. It is intended as a public-facing resource for members to share with their clients. If you are an agent and not yet an AALA member, we encourage you to apply here to access additional non-public resources, panels, and presentations available to members. Current members can find those materials in the Member Resources section. Authors whose agents are not members are welcome to encourage them to join in support of this resource and the many other initiatives AALA undertakes on behalf of the industry.

Creators such as authors and illustrators should be aware that they may be eligible to file a claim in the settlement of the Bartz v. Anthropic class action lawsuit.

The settlement covers Anthropic’s copyright infringement in using works downloaded from online databases such as LibGen and PiLiMi for training their AI/large language model.

Creators can look up if their work is included on the settlement Works List here:

settlement Works List

Only works on the Works List are included in the settlement. See eligibility requirements.

For clarity, a creator who is part of the settlement class has four options:

Submit a claims form with the default payout option
Submit a claims form with an alternative payout (with documentation why)
Opt-out entirely from the settlement (and forfeit any settlement money). FAQ 40 from the Settlement Website explains how to opt out, which is a separate process from submitting a Claim Form.
Object to the claims form (but not to the settlement). FAQ 44 from the Settlement Website explains how to object, which is also a separate process from submitting a Claim Form.
Do nothing (in which case you may or may not receive a payment)

The deadline to submit a claim form is March 23, 2026. The deadline to opt out of the settlement or object to the claims form is January 15, 2026.

For questions, or to modify/update an existing claim form, reach out to: info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com

The AALA has a recording available in our online, members-only video library of a webinar with class counsel which goes into more detail about some questions regarding the settlement and claims process.

Further FAQ below, based on specific questions the AALA has received from creators about the claim form:

Attorneys’ Claim Form FAQ

From their FAQ: “The Class includes publishers, authors (and estates thereof), academic institutions, or others if they are the legal owners of the reproduction right to a work or the beneficial owner of the rights. For example, a legal owner could be an author or publisher with the right to publish and reproduce a book. A beneficial owner could be an author who transferred legal ownership to a publisher in exchange for royalty payments.”

If an author does not qualify (such as in most write-for-hire situations where full copyright is transferred to the publisher) they (or the agent) may be able to negotiate and agree to a % share, which should be uploaded as proof of claim.

Publishers are supposed to submit contact information for anyone who is entitled to a settlement payment. So, if a publisher does so, and an author does not submit a claim, the author should still receive a check. However, it is still recommended that everyone submit their own claim, so they can ensure that accurate information is provided.

Yes. As long as the title is on the list, and the author qualifies as a claimant, a claim can be submitted regardless of the author’s location or nationality. There will be options for international authors to receive payments via wire or check.

Yes, depending on the contract terms for the work. This is a copyright infringement settlement for illegally copying the books, not a settlement regarding the actual AI training, and so yes, illustrators may qualify as a claimant.

Illustrators are included if the illustrator is a legal or beneficial owner of the exclusive right to reproduce the book on the Works List (for example, a credited co-author/rights holder under the book’s publishing agreement, such as for a graphic novel or picture book). If included, illustrators share the author-side allocation under the same default/contract rules described above.

According to class counsel: Illustrators are not included if the illustrator holds only separate rights (e.g., solely a derivative-works right or image-only rights, for example, if they were the cover artist) and not the book’s reproduction right.

If multiple authors file valid claims for the same work, the authors’ share will be split equally among all authors who file a valid claim (unless otherwise specified).

If you believe your share is more (or less), this should be part of your claim form application by uploading documentation that proves this split (such as a publishing contract, collaboration agreement, or a document signed by both parties outlining the way the award should be paid).

No. You can submit multiple works through the claims form. However, if you have so many it’s burdensome to add all to the claims form, you can email your list to the settlement advisor and they will create the claims form for you. Contact the Settlement Administrator at 877-206-2314 or info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com

Yes. And you can submit them both on the same form.

If the work is currently under contract with a publisher, the answer is likely that the author is the beneficial owner, and the publisher is the owner, because the author granted the publisher the exclusive right to reproduce the work.

If rights have reverted to a title or it was self-published, the author is likely the sole owner (as long as the book isn’t under contract with anyone else in which a transfer of rights took place).

Per counsel: “A legal owner of a work holds the exclusive right to publish and reproduce that work. Often, the legal owner of a work is the publisher because it holds the right to reproduce by contract. A beneficial owner of a work is a former legal owner who assigned the exclusive right to publish and reproduce the work to another person or entity in exchange for royalty payments. Often, book authors are beneficial owners.”

If there is any doubt, the author should err on the side of submitting a claim and attach any available documentation demonstrating their rights.

If a work does not qualify as a work made for hire—for instance, a novel written by someone who is not an employee of the publisher or packager—then, even if the contract claims the work is a work for hire, the situation may actually involve a transfer of rights, with the original author retaining the status of beneficial owner.

Yes.

An author can opt-out entirely and pursue their own lawsuit or NOT select the default option and provide documentation in the claims form to verify the % the author is claiming

The Settlement Administrator will reach out to both parties to mediate a solution. Fill out the form to the best of your knowledge with any supporting documentation, and any discrepancies will be handled through this mediation process.

A book can be missing from the Works List for several reasons even if it appears in another database. Common reasons include:

The book was not in the LibGen or PiLiMi datasets that Anthropic attempted to download
Anthropic’s attempted download of the book was unsuccessful.
The book was added to LibGen or PiLiMi after the relevant dates when Anthropic attempted the downloads.
The book was not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before the download (or within three months of first publication).
The book was not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office within five years of publication.

For further detail on these scenarios, see FAQ 51 and FAQ 52, which explain why certain books may not appear on the Works List: https://www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/faq.

Please note that if a book does not appear on the Works List, it is not part of the settlement class, so you do not release any rights to pursue claims against Anthropic regarding that title.

The AALA, along with the AG, is hoping to get more publishers to agree to pay authors what they would have gotten if the publisher had registered copyright in time (Macmillan has agreed to this).

It’s possible the author could pursue an individual claim against Anthropic in the small-claims copyright court (CCB). It is also possible, depending on contract terms, that the publisher may be in breach of contract for failing to register copyright. It is recommended to consult an attorney on any legal proceedings.

Yes. You can update your submitted claim without starting over. To modify a claim form, email the Settlement Administrator at info@AnthropicCopyrightLawsuit.com with the specific changes requested. Corrections must be submitted by the claims deadlines on March 23, 2026.

If any form is incomplete or requires additional information, the Settlement Administrator will reach out.

Provide as much information as you can. Per the website FAQ: “The Claim Form requires that you either provide any contact information you have or can readily obtain (including, for example, by contacting someone you believe may have the contact information) for any other rightsholders or certify that you have already, separately submitted such contact information to the Settlement Administrator or to Class Counsel. Other rightsholders may include authors, co-authors, co-owners, and publishers of the identified work(s).”

This means you can put any email address at which the Settlement Administrator can reach someone who knows this information (such as an editor, or agent, or general publisher email).

Claimant Name should be the name of the author listed on the Works List; however, the claimant can type the name of the Literary Estate under Company Contact Name. Claimant Type should be Literary Estate. The names of each heir should be entered in Form C.

The settlement administrator will accept any legal document that establishes the right to file on behalf of the claimant. For example, estates and heirs can provide documentation demonstrating that they are the successor in interest or legal estate of the author such as a death certificate, probate order, or will. If claimants do not have these documents readily available, they may still submit a claim. However, if the Settlement Administrator has questions about the validity or sufficiency of the information provided, the Settlement Administrator may ask for more information, such as additional documentation or a sworn affidavit of heirship.

You may file a claim now without the ID; the online form simply won’t be prepopulated with your known works.

Please be aware that Class Members will receive the court-approved notice regardless of whether they have already filed a claim, so don’t be alarmed if you receive notice after you’ve already filed your claim. The notice packet will be sent, not just to provide claim-filing information, but also to provide relevant dates and other information all in one place, as well as a Unique ID for easy claim filing.

Authors should check the Author Loan-Out Company box only if the copyright is owned by the author’s loan-out company. In that case, the claimant is the loan-out company rather than the author.

No, the current owner does not need to file the assignment with the U.S. Copyright Office to participate; however, they should be prepared to present proof as needed to confirm that the right has been assigned to them when they submit their claim.

No. If you are the legal or beneficial owner of more than one work in the LibGen or PiLiMi datasets that Anthropic downloaded, you can submit a single Claim Form that identifies the required information for all your works.

No. The claim form must be signed by the claimant. An agency or third party can assist with filling out the form, but the claimant must be the one to sign. (For clarity, a managing agent or officer can still sign the claim form.. See questions about estates above).