Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement is getting messy as judge delays approval

An attorney for authors confirmed on Thursday that “authors and other copyright holders filed claims covering over 92% of the more than 480,000 works included in the settlement.” But objectors maintain that lawyers’ pay should reflect the total number of claimants, not the total amount in the settlement fund. By urging the court to make “reasonable and fair adjustments” to lower attorney fees, Story is hoping to increase compensation to authors. Offering an example, he noted that “a still-generous Counsel payout of $70 million would yield a nearly 25 percent increase in individual Plaintiff awards, while Counsel would still receive the equivalent of their current top rates” for hours worked. To Story, it also seemed like the attorneys could’ve gotten more compensation for authors, but instead of pursuing “creative options,” they “settled far too quickly to maximize” their own compensation. “Were the attorneys as skilled, gritty, and brilliant as they profess, and were the Settlement the ‘home run’ Counsel claims it to be, Plaintiffs would receive more than this pittance,” Story said. …