You qualify only if you owned the reproduction right to a book on the court-approved Works List. You also had to meet the piracy-source and registration tests and file a valid claim by the deadline. Bartz v.
Anthropic PBC, No. 3:24-cv-5417, is the federal copyright case behind this payout. The Association of American Publishers reported final approval of the $1.5 billion settlement for pirated books in its final approval announcement.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Publishers — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Courtlistener — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- Were you the right owner?
- Is your book on the Works List?
- Does your book meet the copying and registration limits?
- What do the passed deadlines mean now?
Were you the right owner?
You qualified only as a legal, beneficial, or sole owner of the exclusive right to reproduce the work. That term means the person or company that controls copying under copyright law and contract. The official claim site administered by JND explains this test in its claim filing guidance.
In practice, that owner is often an author, publisher, estate, or trust. Your publishing contract usually decides who holds the copying right. Check these points:.
- Read your contract for a grant or reservation of reproduction rights.
- Confirm whether rights later transferred to an estate, trust, or successor publisher.
- Identify every co-owner, because payment can be split by title.
Is your book on the Works List?
The Works List controls eligibility title by title. Your book had to appear on the court-approved list searchable at the official settlement lookup. If it did not appear, it was not part of the settlement.
Do not file for an absent title to test the system. The claim site directs owners not to claim books missing from the list. Search exact title, author spelling, and ISBN or ASIN variants before you decide.
Does your book meet the copying and registration limits?
Covered books were those Anthropic downloaded through Library Genesis in June 2021 or Pirate Library Mirror in July 2022. They also needed an ISBN or ASIN. They needed U.S. Copyright Office registration within five years of publication and before download, or within three months of publication.
The scale explains why per-work math changed. The court-approved long-form notice estimated about 482,460 to 500,000 covered works and about $3,000 per work before fees, costs, and splits in its long-form settlement notice. Multiple rightsholders for one title split that title's share. Court-approved fees and costs also reduced the amount available for payment.
What do the passed deadlines mean now?
The claim deadline was March 30, 2026. The opt-out and objection deadlines were Feb. 9, 2026.
The official options page administered by JND now marks all three deadlines as passed in its options and due-dates page. Doing nothing did not preserve your claim. If no co-owner claimed or opted out your work, you receive no payment but still give up the right to sue Anthropic separately over the settled copying claims. Only a timely opt-out preserved a separate lawsuit.