A searchable works list has been released to identify the authors’ works that were stolen by US Corporation Anthropic, to train its AI models. It includes UK authors whose works were copied without their permission or payment. The searchable tool allows authors to find out if their works are included.
Authors can file a claim via the Settlement website. Many Society of Authors’ members are on the list, although the scale of UK authors works used is not yet known.
Anna Ganley, Society of Authors’ Chief Executive said: “We have seen that many UK authors are on the Anthropic list, including Society of Authors’ fellows Kate Mosse CBE, and Sir Ben Okri. Many of our literary estates and around 350 individual works, from over 50 of our fellows, are also on the list. We urge authors around the UK to check if their works are included.”
“Ultimately, this is about copyright theft. And today the extent of this theft has been revealed. Thousands of jobbing writers around the world are affected. This is a landmark ruling and the tip of the iceberg. The Anthropic Settlement has made very clear that authors will not stand for the unlawful use of their work. The message to AI companies who steal authors’ works is clear: you need to pay.”
Author, and SoA fellow, Kate Mosse, whose works have appeared on the list said: “Like every other writer, I’ve been following this US case with interest, suspecting that my work – the result of years of research, planning, writing and editing – might also be being illegally used like every other to train Anthropic’s LLM. As this landmark case has shown, they downloaded more than 7m digitized books that they ‘knew had been pirated – five of my books among them – without permission, licence or any intention of paying for their use. This is theft.
“This is the largest settlement ever approved for copyright infringement, and it will not be the last. Authors need to keep the pressure on UK Government to recognise the underhand tactics big tech are using to undermine the principles of copyright, acknowledge how this weakens our global creative industries and will damage growth. We stand united.”
The claim website also lists multiple avenues for authors who have any questions to contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel (the plaintiffs’ lawyers). The settlement website in the Bartz v Anthropic class action can be found here: www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com.
The Society of Authors is creating a list of members who are included on this list to help us gauge how many UK members are affected. If you have found your work listed, please consider recording your details on the form below. The information will remain confidential and will only be used for our ongoing public affairs work, unless you inform us otherwise.
