Authors Guild seeks authors excluded from Anthropic settlement

The Authors Guild is asking authors to come forward if they believe their books were excluded from the proposed Bartz v. Anthropic settlement because a publisher failed to register the work’s copyright. Jane Friedman reported the outreach on May 21, citing the Guild’s request for information from affected authors. The issue turns on a threshold requirement in the class settlement: books generally had to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office on a specific timetable to qualify. The settlement website says the claims deadline has passed, but the works list remains searchable and the administrator is still taking inquiries. ### Which authors are the Guild trying to find? Mary Rasenberger, the Authors Guild’s chief executive, said the group wants to hear from any author whose publisher did not register a book’s copyright and who believes that failure kept the book out of the Anthropic class settlement. Publishers Lunch reported on May 20 that the Guild is trying to “assess the scope of the issue.” (lunch.publishersmarketplace.com) Publishers Weekly reported on May 21 that the Guild is collecting information from authors whose publishers failed to register their books with the U.S. Copyright Office and who believe they were excluded from the Bartz v. Anthropic class action settlement as a result. ### Why would registration determine whether a book was included? The court-approved settlement notice says a book qualifies only if it was downloaded by Anthropic from LibGen or PiLiMi, had an ISBN or ASIN, and was registered with the U.S. (lunch.publishersmarketplace.com) Copyright Office within five years of publication. The notice also says the work had to be registered before Anthropic downloaded it, or within three months of publication. (publishersweekly.com) The Authors Guild’s settlement guide says Judge William Alsup certified a class in July 2025 covering rightsholders of books Anthropic acquired from LibGen and PiLiMi, provided the books were registered with the Copyright Office in a timely manner and had ISBN or ASIN numbers. The guide says the class was certified for piracy claims, not for the act of AI training itself. (classaction.org) ### What is Bartz v. Anthropic, and how large is the settlement? The Authors Guild says Bartz v. Anthropic was filed by authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson over Anthropic’s use of books without permission. The Guild says Judge Alsup ruled in June 2025 that AI training on legally acquired books could qualify as fair use, but denied summary judgment for Anthropic on piracy-related claims. (authorsguild.org) The proposed settlement fund is $1.5 billion, according to the settlement notice and the Guild’s explainer. The Guild says about 500,000 titles out of roughly 7 million downloaded book copies met the class definition after duplicates and ineligible works were removed, implying at least about $3,000 per title before costs and fees. (authorsguild.org) ### What should an author check if a book seems to be missing? The Authors Guild told authors in an earlier settlement guide that if neither the author nor the publisher registered the book, the book will not be added to the class. That same guidance said an author may have a breach-of-contract claim if a contract required the publisher to register the copyright and the publisher failed to do so. (authorsguild.org) The Guild’s post-webinar Q&A says authors who discover a publisher was supposed to register a copyright but did not, causing exclusion, should tell the publisher it may owe the author that share of the settlement if the publisher had a contractual obligation to register. The Q&A also says a copyright symbol or ISBN does not mean a work was formally registered. (authorsguild.org) ### Where can authors still look for answers? The settlement website says authors can use the online works-list lookup to see whether a title is included and can contact JND Legal Administration through the site, by phone or by email with questions. The site says the claim deadline was March 30, 2026, and the opt-out and objection deadlines have already passed. (authorsguild.org) Jane Friedman said authors who think they were excluded because a publisher failed to register the work should contact the Authors Guild. The Guild’s current effort is to identify affected books and authors, while the searchable works list and settlement contacts remain available for title-by-title checks. (lunch.publishersmarketplace.com) (anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com)