Brussels, 9^th of September 2025

PDF: EWC Press Release Anthropic Settlement 

Press Release

Cautious Welcome by EWC for the Anthropic Settlement proposal:
The right signal, but no basis for future remuneration negotiations

Anthropic, a Californian-based tech-giant who trained their AI large language model on pirated books, have offered to settle with authors in a deal worth $1.5bn.

Insofar as the settlement offer makes clear to all AI companies that it will prove costly for them to use books and other written works without permission, the EWC welcomes the direction. As Nina George, writer and Commissioner for Political Affairs for the EWC, says: “This settlement sends the tech companies a signal: you cannot simply steal a writers’ work and lifetime labour to build a profitable system, just because your IT benefits.”

EWC Evaluation

The EWC does not, however, see the proposed settlement as a final model for the future dealings between tech companies and authors. The headline figure of $1.5bn sounds significant but it is estimated that this will lead to payments of about $3,000 per book to the relevant authors, and only for U.S. registered 500,000 titles, among them only a few translated European writers. We note that a licensing agreement between Microsoft and HarperCollins for non-fiction books is at the higher figure of $5,000 and is for a limited duration, just three years of use. We would advocate for an increased usage payment: a proper remuneration for the whole effort and investment that goes into the creation of a book.

More importantly, a survey of EWC members in spring 2025 showed that over half of the more than 1.2 million active authors in the European book market do not wish their books to be used in AI training. This is a fundamental ethical issue, and any future legislation must contain only voluntary and exclusive rights transfers, and do not mandate those authors who are not satisfied with an offer from the tech company or who simply want to prevent their writing being used in this way on principle.

EWC on Necessary Next Steps

The EWC hopes that the Anthropic settlement in the USA will encourage political decision makers in Europe to stop the continued theft of artistic works under the guise of “being competitive”. In particular, we call on Commissioner Henna Virkkunen and her Cabinet to recognise the need for full transparency in the AI production chain. The so-called ‘template’, which AI developers are theoretically obliged to use since 2 August 2025 to give disclosure on which works they exploit, does not give us the information we need to check or enforce our rights. We, the authors and artists, the ones the wealthy companies with billionaire-CEOs steal from, are constantly being pushed aside and asked to settle the matter in court. Chat GPT 5 was released mid-August. But its manufacturer is not even capable of meeting the minimum requirements of the template – fully aware that the EU is giving it a grace period until 2027. Until then, millions of texts by professional authors and private individuals will be abused without hindrance.

The federal judge overseeing Anthropic’s $1.5bn settlement with book authors over a year-long copyright lawsuit has postponed the deal’s approval. The next hearing is on 25/9.

Further Informations & Need to know for Authors

What European Authors need to know now is can be found on the blog post of the U.S. Authors’ Guild with Details on the Anthropic case via Authors Guild

About

…the European Writers’ Council (EWC)

The EWC is the world’s largest federation of writers in the book sector and of all genres (fiction, non-fiction, academic, children’s books, poetry, etc.). With 53 organisations and professional guilds from 34 countries of the EU, the EEA and of non-EU areas, the EWC represents 250.000 writers and translators, writing and publishing altogether in 37 languages. The EWC is the world’s leading federation for the defence of book authors’ rights since 1977.

europeanwriterscouncil.eu
info@europeanwriterscouncil.eu – +32 2 290 92 50

 

PDF: EWC Press Release Anthropic Settlement