On Monday US District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin formally approved the settlement in the Bartz v. Anthropic copyright case. The $1.5 billion settlement–the largest ever recorded for a copyright case–won preliminary approval from Judge William Alsup in September 2025 before he retired at the end of the year. The judge concludes, “The $1.5 billion Settlement provides substantial benefits to the Class in light of the novel claims asserted. Success at trial was not assured, and a loss would have left the Class with no recourse.” The court notes that the per-work payment of over […]
