Bartz v. Anthropic – Chat GPT Is Eating the World

Bartz Class Counsel files updated proposed order ahead of May 14 final approval of settlement hearing

At the Court’s instruction, the Bartz Class Counsel have filed an updated proposed order related to the pending motions for final approval of the class settlement and award of attorneys’ fees. This was needed to account for the additional time the Court gave to file objections. The new proposed order includes any new objections filed.…
Read more: Bartz Class Counsel files updated proposed order ahead of May 14 final approval of settlement hearing
Adding to their largest settlement in US copyright history, Bartz book authors’ class announces another historic milestone: 91.3% participation of total works in class. Wow.

In an update provided to the court ahead of the final approval hearing, the Bartz Class Counsel announced a stunning participation rate of 91.3 percent — or 440,409 of 482,460 works in the class — have been claimed for distribution of the class settlement funds. 91.3 percent participation for a non-personal injury class action is…
Read more: Adding to their largest settlement in US copyright history, Bartz book authors’ class announces another historic milestone: 91.3% participation of total works in class. Wow.
Judge Martinez-Olguin pushes back Final Approval of Settlement Hearing to May 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Will allow timely class member objectors to appear via Zoom.

In Bartz v. Anthropic, Judge Martinez-Olguin moved the date of the hearing to consider the Class Counsel’s motion for final approval of the settlement and of the motion for attorneys’ fees to May 14, 2026, 2 PM. (The original date was April 23.) The change was to accommodate objections from class members that had not…
Read more: Judge Martinez-Olguin pushes back Final Approval of Settlement Hearing to May 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Will allow timely class member objectors to appear via Zoom.
Anthropic seeks to relate Carreyrou/Cambronne suit and Chicken Soup for the Soul suit to Bartz v. Anthropic

In one of the more intriguing litigation moves in the AI copyright lawsuits, Anthropic told Judge Pitts that its plans on seeking to have (1) Carreyrou/Cambronne v. Anthropic and (2) Chicken Soup for the Soul both declared related cases to the Bartz v. Anthropic lawsuit. That case was declared a class action and then settled,…
Read more: Anthropic seeks to relate Carreyrou/Cambronne suit and Chicken Soup for the Soul suit to Bartz v. Anthropic
Bartz Class Settlement payout per work may increase above $3K per work. My current calculation = $4,800 plus per work, but subject to change.

I finally had the time to review the Bartz Class Counsel’s proposed order to its motion for final approval of the settlement and the motion for attorneys’ fees. The formula under the settlement for pro rata payouts per works claimed is as follows: In the Bartz Class Counsel’s proposed order above, we can find the…
Read more: Bartz Class Settlement payout per work may increase above $3K per work. My current calculation = $4,800 plus per work, but subject to change.
Bartz Class Counsel cut attorneys’ fee request to 12.5% (down from 20%) = $187.5M

Bartz Class Counsel also filed their reply to Anthropic’s response and the relatively few objections some class members filed to the motion for attorneys’ fees. Due to concerns Judge Alsup (before he retired) had raised, the Class Counsel has reduced its request from 20% to 12.5%. If I’ve done the math correctly, that equals $187.5…
Read more: Bartz Class Counsel cut attorneys’ fee request to 12.5% (down from 20%) = $187.5M
Bartz Class Counsel tout impressive 54% participation rate for works in class, way up from 12% in Oct. 2025. Less than 0.5% opted out.

Wow. The Bartz Class Counsel just filed their Motion for Final Approval of Settlement. The numbers are impressive. According to Class Counsel: These percentages are based on works in the class, not based on claimants. But the participation rate is very impressive. In fact, because one person could own copyrights to several works or more,…
Read more: Bartz Class Counsel tout impressive 54% participation rate for works in class, way up from 12% in Oct. 2025. Less than 0.5% opted out.
New Paper: Copyright Dilution Based on Wholly Non-Infringing Expression Is Unconstitutional. It violates both Copyright Clause and First Amendment.

Publication Day: My latest article has been published by the Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property. The article, Copyright Dilution Under Constitutional Scrutiny, explains why the newfound theory of market harm called “copyright dilution“–embraced by the Copyright Office and by Judge Chhabria in dicta in Kadrey v. Meta—would violate the Constitution if it is adopted by…
Read more: New Paper: Copyright Dilution Based on Wholly Non-Infringing Expression Is Unconstitutional. It violates both Copyright Clause and First Amendment.
Elon Musk’s xAI enlists team from Sullivan & Cromwell, including Supreme Court litigators, to defense v. book authors Carreyrou’s copyright lawsuit

Elon Musk’s xAI, sued for the 1st time for copyright infringement for its training of its models, has enlisted a legal team from Sullivan & Cromwell. What’s notable is that xAI’s legal team includes Supreme Court litigators, even though the case is just starting in the trial court. Jeffrey B Wall: “Jeff Wall heads the…
Read more: Elon Musk’s xAI enlists team from Sullivan & Cromwell, including Supreme Court litigators, to defense v. book authors Carreyrou’s copyright lawsuit
Google opposes Cengage Learning and Hachette Book Group’s attempt to intervene late. But, even if court agrees with Google, they could just file a new lawsuit

Google filed a blistering opposition to what they say is a belated attempt by publishers Cengage Learning and Hachette Book Group to intervene in a book author lawsuit filed against Google that dates back to 2023. Google says the motion is too late, plus it does not satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24. But,…
Read more: Google opposes Cengage Learning and Hachette Book Group’s attempt to intervene late. But, even if court agrees with Google, they could just file a new lawsuit

Category: Bartz v. Anthropic