Category: Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin

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.
Shadow Library Strategy strikes again: Concord Music & music publishers file 2d music suit v. Anthropic seeking more than $3 billion. Copyright lawsuit No. 76 v. AI cos.

As news of Anthropic’s latest $10 billion funding round broke, with the company valued at $350 billion, Concord Music and a slew of other music publishers were finalizing their copyright lawsuit against Anthropic. In a statement to Billboard, the plaintiffs say they are seeking more than $3 billion from Anthropic. The complaint copies the Shadow…
Read more: Shadow Library Strategy strikes again: Concord Music & music publishers file 2d music suit v. Anthropic seeking more than $3 billion. Copyright lawsuit No. 76 v. AI cos.
Judge Martínez-Olguín will allow extension to opt out in Bartz v. Anthropic in order to give notice to class

Judge Martínez-Olguín has quickly disposed of pending motions in the Bartz v. Anthropic case since it was reassigned to her following Judge Alsup’s retirement. The Judge has asked the parties to work out an additional extension for people to opt out of and to file objections to the $1.5 billion class settlement. The last extension…
Read more: Judge Martínez-Olguín will allow extension to opt out in Bartz v. Anthropic in order to give notice to class
Bartz, Anthropic file case statement with Judge Martínez-Olguín. Seeks resetting April 23 for final approval hearing of class settlement.

The parties in Bartz v. Anthropic have filed a case management statement. It provides a nice summary of the case. It asks Judge Martínez-Olguín to reset the original date for the final approval hearing for April 23, at 12 PM. The date was removed from the calendar after Judge Alsup, who had presided over the…
Read more: Bartz, Anthropic file case statement with Judge Martínez-Olguín. Seeks resetting April 23 for final approval hearing of class settlement.
Judge Martinez-Olguin rules on sealing motions, allowing some and denying others

In Bartz v. Anthropic, Judge Martinez-Olguin issued an order granting and denying various requests of parties to seal (1) the Works List (granted for now), (2) Settlement Agreement (granted), and (3) briefs (some granted, some denied). DOWNLOAD THE ORDER
Read more: Judge Martinez-Olguin rules on sealing motions, allowing some and denying others
Judge Martinez-Olguin sets conference for Jan. 22, 11 AM PST in Bartz v. Anthropic

As requested by the Bartz Class Counsel, Judge Martinez-Olguin has scheduled an Initial Case Management Conference set for Jan. 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM in San Francisco, Courtroom 10, 19th Floor. A case management statement from the parties is due by Jan. 15, noon.
Read more: Judge Martinez-Olguin sets conference for Jan. 22, 11 AM PST in Bartz v. Anthropic
Bartz Class Counsel & Authors Guild host webinar on Jan. 13 re: class settlement

The Bartz Class Counsel and Authors Guild will host a Zoom webinar about the class settlement on Jan. 13, 2 PM EDT. Judge Martínez-Olguín, who took over the case following Judge Alsup’s retirement, granted the parties’ request for a 2-week extension of the deadline for class members to opt out of or object to the…
Read more: Bartz Class Counsel & Authors Guild host webinar on Jan. 13 re: class settlement
Bartz Class Counsel gives status report to Judge Martínez-Olguín. Requests 2 week extension to opt outs for class.

Now that Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín has officially be reassigned the Bartz v. Anthropic case, following Judge Alsup’s retirement, the Bartz Class Counsel filed a status report. The Class Counsel seeks a 2-week extension to the opt out period from the class, ending on Jan. 29. Plus, the Class Counsel seeks a short status conference, while keeping…
Read more: Bartz Class Counsel gives status report to Judge Martínez-Olguín. Requests 2 week extension to opt outs for class.
As Judge Alsup retires, Bartz v. Anthropic reassigned to Judge Martínez-Olguín

As Judge William Alsup is retiring at the end of 2025, the Bartz v. Anthropic class action lawsuit was just reassigned to Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who was presiding over the In re OpenAI ChatGPT Litigation filed by book authors (Paul Tremblay, Sarah Silverman, and Michael Chabon) before its transfer to the MDL Litigation before Judge…
Read more: As Judge Alsup retires, Bartz v. Anthropic reassigned to Judge Martínez-Olguín
List of OpenAI’s losses in discovery grows long. Is it the canary in the coal mine for OpenAI?

Back in December 2024, OpenAI probably had different hopes when seeking to transfer all the copyright lawsuits against it — then only 8 lawsuits — to one Multi-District Litigation court. Flash forward a year later. And OpenAI’s decision looks like it backfired. The copyright lawsuits have doubled since then, to now 16 lawsuits against OpenAI…
Read more: List of OpenAI’s losses in discovery grows long. Is it the canary in the coal mine for OpenAI?