Anthropic, an artificial intelligence firm, has reached a $1.5 billion settlement in a lawsuit initiated by authors. The settlement is pending judicial endorsement, but the authors’ legal representatives are satisfied with the developments. “It’s the largest copyright recovery ever,” remarked Justin Nelson, the counsel for the authors, to the Associated Press. “This is the first instance of its kind in the AI era.”

The authors alleged that Anthropic utilized unauthorized copies of their books to train its AI chatbot, Claude. The lawsuit encompasses approximately 500,000 works, which could lead to a payout of around $3,000 per work if sanctioned.

Aparna Sridhar, deputy general counsel at Anthropic, informed Ars Technica that the court considered Anthropic’s method of AI training as fair use. “Should today’s settlement receive approval, it will address the remaining legacy claims of the plaintiffs,” Sridhar stated. “We continue to be devoted to creating safe AI systems that assist individuals and organizations in expanding their capabilities, promoting scientific advancement, and tackling intricate issues.”

If given the green light, this settlement may set a pivotal precedent in legal cases against AI firms. Numerous artists and authors, such as George RR Martin and John Grisham, have taken legal action against AI companies like OpenAI for copyright violations.

*Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of Mashable, initiated a lawsuit in April against OpenAI, claiming it violated Ziff Davis’ copyrights while training and operating its AI systems.*