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Category: Bartz v. Anthropic

Bartz plaintiffs want the deposition transcripts and records from depositions of Dario Amodei, Benjamin Mann for their past work at OpenAI and alleged use of LibGen books dataset

The Bartz plaintiffs filed a motion to compel non-party OpenAI to turn over the deposition transcripts and records from the depositions taken of Anthropic’s co-founders Dario Amodei and Benjamin for their alleged past use of the LibGen books dataset aka shadow library while employees of OpenAI. The Authors Guild took the deposition. Sounds like a…
Read more: Bartz plaintiffs want the deposition transcripts and records from depositions of Dario Amodei, Benjamin Mann for their past work at OpenAI and alleged use of LibGen books dataset
Bartz v. Anthropic parties fight over production of datasets spreadsheet and books dataset outside of inspection environment. Anthropic reveals it spent tens of millions of dollars to compile its own scanned books dataset.

As Judge Alsup is deliberating over Anthropic’s motion for summary judgment on fair use, the parties continue to fight over discovery. One of the more fascinating discovery disputes relates to whether the Bartz plaintiffs should get production of (1) a spreadsheet of the datasets used by Anthropic, which it calls the Tokens Formula Log, and…
Read more: Bartz v. Anthropic parties fight over production of datasets spreadsheet and books dataset outside of inspection environment. Anthropic reveals it spent tens of millions of dollars to compile its own scanned books dataset.
Who will decide fair use first — Judge Alsup or Judge Chhabria?

Two cases in the Northern District of California have had oral arguments on the respective defendant’s motion for summary judgment on fair use: Kadrey v. Meta and Bartz v. Anthropic. Both involve lawsuits brought by book authors. Both involve the defendant’s use of so-called pirated books datasets, or shadow libraries, which defendants contend were used…
Read more: Who will decide fair use first — Judge Alsup or Judge Chhabria?
Bartz v. Anthropic parties file briefs on Google Books initial copying and fair use. Judge Alsup also tells parties he’s likely to go inactive status before end of 2025.

At Thursday’s hearing on Anthropic’s motion for summary judgment on fair use, Judge William Alsup told the parties he’s inclined to find in favor of Anthropic’s fair use defense (though he could change his mind). But he asked the parties to brief a question on the main precedent relied on by Anthropic: “(1) “In the…
Read more: Bartz v. Anthropic parties file briefs on Google Books initial copying and fair use. Judge Alsup also tells parties he’s likely to go inactive status before end of 2025.
Judge Alsup says he’s leaning to accept fair use by Anthropic. But cautions may change his mind.

I wasn’t able to attend today’s hearing in San Francisco on Anthropic’s motion for summary judgment on fair use in Bartz v. Anthropic. So, please take my assessment with a grain of sale. Also remember that it’s risky, if not foolish, to predict how a judge will rule based on an oral argument. But, based…
Read more: Judge Alsup says he’s leaning to accept fair use by Anthropic. But cautions may change his mind.
Anthropic hearing on fair use today in SF. OpenAI MDL litigation conference in NY.

Today, there are two big hearings, both in-person: May 22, 2025 In re OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation: Initial Case Management Conference scheduled for May 22, 2025, at 10:00 am ET in New York City before Judge Sidney Stein. Bartz v. Anthropic: summary judgment motion on fair use, 12:00 PM PT in San Francisco, Courtroom 12,…
Read more: Anthropic hearing on fair use today in SF. OpenAI MDL litigation conference in NY.
Bartz files supplementary brief re: class certification. Shows difficulty of defining a common class.

One of the sleeper issues in the lawsuits filed by book authors against Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, and others is whether the courts will certify a class of book authors in any of the lawsuits. Last week, Judge Alsup was the first federal judge to consider a motion for class certification in one of these AI…
Read more: Bartz files supplementary brief re: class certification. Shows difficulty of defining a common class.
Anthropic files supplemental brief to answer Judge Alsup’s question on non-class member suing for same copyrighted work

Anthropic filed a supplemental brief in response to a question Judge Alsup apparently asked during the hearing on the motion of Bartz for class certification. Question: Is there case law on the effect on Anthropic if one legal or beneficial owner of a copyright in a work is included in one of the proposed classes…
Read more: Anthropic files supplemental brief to answer Judge Alsup’s question on non-class member suing for same copyrighted work
At hearing for class certification, Judge Alsup rejects all Anthropic’s sealing motions. Must pare down.

Judge William Alsup held a hearing on the Bartz book authors’ motion for class certification. He took it under advisement. He also rejected all the motions of Anthropic to see various parts of submissions, including the names of datasets used to train its AI model, Claude. No surprise. Anthropic was very aggressive in trying to…
Read more: At hearing for class certification, Judge Alsup rejects all Anthropic’s sealing motions. Must pare down.
Bartz objects to Anthropic’s alleged requirement allowing access to list of datasets only in “a highly-monitored and restrictive inspection environment”

By the sounds of it, Anthropic is jealously guarding the information about what datasets it used to train its AI model like a crown jewel. Bartz book authors just filed a letter objecting to the alleged restriction that Anthropic is now imposing: “Anthropic claims Plaintiffs can only view this evidence in a highly-monitored and restrictive…
Read more: Bartz objects to Anthropic’s alleged requirement allowing access to list of datasets only in “a highly-monitored and restrictive inspection environment”