Hachette Book Group and Cengage have moved to intervene in a class action lawsuit first brought by writers and illustrators against Google in 2023, accusing the company of copyright infringement in using their books to train its AI system Gemini. They will represent the interests of publishers, a class of rightsholders who are not currently represented in the suit. The Association of American Publishers writes, “The publishers have moved to intervene now given recent efforts by the individual plaintiffs to certify a class that includes publishers as copyright owners of many works in suit, and Google’s objection to that effort […]
Legal
Appeals Court Rules That Artists Can Reclaim Foreign Rights
In a landmark ruling, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that U.S. copyright termination rules are enforceable around the world, upholding a novel lower court ruling from a year ago. The decision in the case, which was brought by songwriter Cyril Vetter, allows artists who have sold their copyrights in other countries to win them back. Previously, rights holders were only able to win back their copyright in the U.S., though the ruling concludes that Congress did not intend for termination rules to be limited to this country. “That contractual reversions of all rights are common practice in the […]
Sage Agrees to Correct Misleading Email to Authors About Anthropic Settlement
Sage Publishing has agreed to send a “curative email” to authors, after they previously sent an email advising class members to claim only 10 percent as their portion of the Anthropic settlement funds or possibly face delays in payment. The move comes after the Textbook & Academic Authors Association filed a motion in the case asserting that Sage’s first message misled authors to claim less than they might otherwise get. Textbook authors often get a 10 percent royalty rate, but a 50/50 split is more common for licensing, “to which this settlement payment is more akin,” the TAA reports. The […]
Anthropic Suit Opt-Out Deadline Extended
Judge Araceli Martinez-Oluguin, who took over the Anthropic case at the beginning of the year, has extended the deadline to make objections or opt-out of the settlement to January 29. The previous deadline was January 7. “You may exclude yourself and every other legal and beneficial owner of your work by following the directions below by January 29, 2026,” the Anthropic settlement website explains. “This is the only option that allows you to bring your own separate lawsuit against Anthropic for the claims this Settlement resolves.” “You may object to the Settlement by January 29, 2026 by writing to the […]
ACLU Files Book Banning Suit On Behalf of Vonnegut Estate
The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Utah on behalf of the estate of Kurt Vonnegut; authors Elana K. Arnold, Ellen Hopkins, and Amy Reed; and two anonymous Utah public high school students, over the state’s book banning law. Utah’s Sensitive Materials Law, passed in 2022 and amended in 2024, requires public schools and their libraries to remove certain “inappropriate” books or books with any reference to sex. These books include Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, among many other award-winning titles. The plaintiffs write in the complaint that the law […]
Meet the New Judge in the Anthropic Case
With the retirement of Judge William Alsup, Northern California District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin will oversee the Anthropic copyright settlement from here. Appointed to the bench in 2023 by President Joe Biden, she is considered “one of the nation’s leading immigration attorneys, having spent her entire career advocating for rights of immigrant workers.” In paperwork filed December 30 as ordered by Judge Alsup, the plaintiffs’ attorneys admitted that they had agreed to the split of legal fees proposed to the court in an early December filing way back on August 7 in a written agreement. No doubt Judge Alsup would […]