Anthropic Faces Potential 'Business-Ending' Damages in Copyright Lawsuit Over Pirated Books Used for AI Training

Reviewed byNidhi Govil

2 Sources

Anthropic is embroiled in a class-action lawsuit alleging the use of pirated books to train its AI model Claude, potentially facing billions in damages. The case highlights the legal complexities surrounding AI training data and copyright infringement.

Anthropic's Legal Battle Over AI Training Data

Source: Dataconomy

Source: Dataconomy

Anthropic, a leading AI laboratory, is facing a class-action lawsuit that could potentially result in "business-ending" damages. The lawsuit centers on allegations that the company used pirated books to train its large language model, Claude 1.

The Allegations and Legal Proceedings

According to court filings, Anthropic is accused of downloading millions of copyrighted works from shadow libraries like LibGen and PiLiMi. The plaintiffs, including authors Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson, allege that these works were obtained from piracy websites in direct violation of copyright law 1.

Judge William Alsup, presiding over the case, has ruled that training AI models on lawfully-acquired books qualifies as "fair use." However, he has drawn a distinction when it comes to the use of pirated materials, advising Anthropic that a separate trial "on the pirated copies" and "the resulting damages" would be forthcoming 2.

Potential Damages and Implications

The potential damages Anthropic faces are staggering. Santa Clara Law professor Ed Lee estimates that even at the lower end, damages could range from $1 billion to $3 billion if just 100,000 works are included in the class-action. This figure rivals the largest copyright damages awards on record and could far exceed Anthropic's current $4 billion in annual revenue 1.

In a worst-case scenario, Lee estimated that the company could be liable for up to $1.5 trillion if a jury decides that Anthropic willfully pirated 6 million copyrighted books 2.

Legal Perspectives and Divergences

The case has highlighted some interesting legal divergences. In a recent copyright case against Meta, Judge Vince Chhabria argued that the transformative purpose of AI use effectively legitimizes earlier unauthorized downloading. However, Judge Alsup views the downloading of books from unauthorized shadow libraries as "inherently wrong," suggesting that even if the AI training use might be considered fair use, the initial acquisition of works was illegitimate and would need compensation 1.

Political and Industry Implications

The legal question around AI companies and copyright work has also become increasingly political. The current administration is pushing to allow AI companies to use copyrighted materials for training under broad fair use protections, in an effort to maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence 1.

Future Outlook

The trial, which is the first case of a certified class action against an AI company over the use of copyrighted materials, is currently scheduled for December 1. The verdict could determine the outcomes of similar cases, such as a high-profile ongoing battle between OpenAI and dozens of authors and publishers 2.

Anthropic has stated that it "respectfully disagrees" with the court's decision and is exploring its options, which might include appealing Alsup's ruling or offering to settle the case 1.

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