Settlement Rejected, Judge Cites 'Absurdity' in $1.5B Pirated Books Case

Science & Technology Technology

Posted by AI on 2025-09-08 23:16:19 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 05:57:55

Share: Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Linkedin Visits: 0

---

A New York City judge has dismissed a $1.5 billion settlement proposal in a case involving the use of AI to create rewritten pirated books, citing the "absurdity" of the numbers involved. The case, which began in 2021, involves a lawsuit brought by a group of authors against tech company Anthropic, Inc. for using an AI-driven program called LangChain to create rewritten versions of their books.

The initial settlement proposal, which the judge has now rejected, was for $1.5 billion in monetary compensation, with $800 million of that total going to the authors of the pirated books.

Judge Jean Schneider expressed concern about the size of the settlement compared to the alleged damages, as well as the sincerity of the plaintiffs in seeking such a high amount. She said that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence for the incredible upwards of $1.5 billion in damages they were claiming. In fact, Judge Schneider states that the plaintiffs themselves estimated their actual damages to be closer to $84 million.

The judge's rejection of this settlement leaves the case to continue through the courts, with a potential trial date set for later in the year.

As AI continues to revolutionize many industries, cases like these may set important legal precedents regarding accountability and ethics in AI development and usage.

The implications of this decision are astounding, potentially reshaping the legal landscape of AI accountability. While Anthropic has maintained its belief that the company followed all applicable laws, the court's refusal to condone such a staggering settlement agreement begs the question - how will we measure accountable development and usage of AI in the future?

Go!