BREAKING NEWS: After mediation, Anthropic reaches a settlement with Bartz book authors, including class-wide. It will still need to be approved by Judge Alsup, but that seems very likely.
This is now the second settlement announced in the past week in the AI copyright litigation.
Which domino will drop next?
UPDATE: Judge Alsup immediately signed the stipulated order (although waiting for the confirmation when the docket is posted). The lawsuit is stayed but trial date remains.
Sept 8, 2025 at noon: Judge Alsup will hold a hearing for preliminary approval of the class settlement. The parties must file their motions for preliminary approval by Sept. 5 noon.
UPDATE 2: Looking down the road to when Judge Alsup has to determine if the proposed class action settlement is fair under Rule 23(e), here’s what it says:
(2) Approval of the Proposal . If the proposal would bind class members, the court may approve it only after a hearing and only on finding that it is fair, reasonable, and adequate after considering whether:
(A) the class representatives and class counsel have adequately represented the class;
(B) the proposal was negotiated at arm’s length;
(C) the relief provided for the class is adequate, taking into account:
(i) the costs, risks, and delay of trial and appeal;
(ii) the effectiveness of any proposed method of distributing relief to the class, including the method of processing class-member claims;
(iii) the terms of any proposed award of attorney’s fees, including timing of payment; and
(iv) any agreement required to be identified under Rule 23(e)(3); and
(D) the proposal treats class members equitably relative to each other.
DOWNLOAD THE SETTLEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT AND PROPOSED ORDER BELOW:
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Plenty of reasons why Anthropic would settle: