Context: Almost precisely one month ago, Anthropic and book authors’ counsel announced that they had agreed on a term sheet for a $1.5B (or higher) settlement of the Bartz v. Anthropic copyright class action (August 26, 2025 ai fray article). But in order for U.S. class actions to settle, judicial approval is required, and Judge William H. Alsup of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California was not entirely satisfied at first. We nevertheless predicted ultimate approval (September 9, 2025 ai fray article). Earlier this week, a supplemental brief in support of the proposed settlement received tremendous support from organizations representing book authors and publishers alike (September 23, 2025 ai fray article). Certain organizations had already been involved in the settlement process earlier on.
What’s new: Further to a 30-minute hearing in San Francisco on Thursday, Judge Alsup “granted preliminary approval to the class settlement, preliminary approval to the plan of distribution, and preliminary approval to the plan for notice,” according to an official minute entry that also reminds the parties of the requirement “to comply with {his] directives as stated on the record.”
Direct impact: Even though this blessing is “preliminary” in formal terms and final approval will take more than another six months, the rest is details, homework, and logistics. Judge Alsup himself already urged a settlement months ago, but he took his responsibility as a gatekeeper very seriously, seeking to ensure that no one would be treated unfairly or misled. But his criticism was constructive. The key hurdle was taken on September 25, 2025 by local time. While some heavy lifting remains to get the authors of millions of copyrighted works paid, the fundamental decision has been made. At the hearing, Judge Alsup said he expected final approal to happen, noting that “some of the best lawyers in America” were involved.
Wider ramifications: There are various other AI copyright class actions pending in U.S. federal court where the use of pirate libraries for LLM training is at issue. Several of them involve the same plaintiff’s counsel, particularly lead counsel Justin Nelson of Susman Godfrey, whose track record we mentioned in our report on the announcement of the settlement, and his primary deputy Rohit Nath as well as the wider team. The Bartz v. Anthropic settlement is not binding on any other party, nor is this particular approval binding on any other court, but it stands as a beacon and serves as a model, ready to be adopted with case-specific adaptations.
Preliinary approval was granted orally at the hearing, and here’s the official docket text that was entered a few hours later:
Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge William Alsup:
Motion Hearing held on 9/25/2025 re: [363] Motion for Preliminary Approval. The Court granted preliminary approval to the class settlement, preliminary approval to the plan of distribution, and preliminary approval to the plan for notice. Parties to comply with the Courts directives as stated on the record.
Total Time in Court: 1:00 – 1:30 = 30 Minutes.
Court Reporter: Marla Knox.
Plaintiffs Attorneys: Justin Nelson, Rachel Geman, J. Craig Smyser, Samir Doshi, Elizabeth Cabraser, Daniel Hutchinson, Jalle Dafa.
Defendant Attorneys: Daralyn Durie, Doug Winthrop, Devon Hanley Cook, Joseph Farris, Jeff Bleich (general counsel).
Also Present:
Plaintiffs: Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, Kirk W. Johnson.
Publishers Coordinating Counsel: Matthew Oppenheim, Jeff Gould, Jay Edelson, J. Eli Wade-Scott.
Claims Administrator: Jennifer Keough.
(This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (afm, COURT STAFF) (Date Filed: 9/25/2025)
At the hearing, Mr. Nelson emphasized the “finality” and legal “certainty” that this settlement provides to both parties, and the “overwhelming support” from stakeholders. He also highlighted that the $3,000 amount negotiated here is four times the typical statutory damages award of $750 per registered work.
Judge Alsup’s concerns were never about whether this number was fair. They were about potential gamesmanship with opt-outs and reinclusion. He also wanted to receive the class and works lists in the build-up to preliminary approval and gave the parties guidance as to how they could communicate the rationale behind the $3,000 figure to authors in a realistic fashion, reflecting that a settlement always means finding common ground and eliminating the risk of a worst-case outcome by ceasing to chase hypothetical best-case scenarios. Some of that guidance came in the form of specific suggestions, and he raised dozens of questions that (as the result shows) were satisfactorily addressed by counsel for the parties in various recent filings, particularly in the following 53-page filing on Tuesday (September 23, 2025):
Class members (authors whose registered works were impacted) will receive notices within about a week. A date for final approval has not been said, and it remains to be seen whether Judge Alsup himself will continue to preside over this historic case until the formal end, despite his plans to become inactive at the end of this calendar year. Payments will be made two months after final approval.
Counsel and other hearing participants
Plaintiffs’ Attorneys:
- Susman Godfrey:  Justin A. Nelson (lead counsel), Rohit Nath, Samir Doshi, Michael Adamson (not on the 25th, but at the previous hearing) and  J. Craig Smyser.
- Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: Rachel Geman (co-lead counsel), Daniel M. Hutchinson, Jacob S. Miller (at the previous hearing) ,  Jallé Daffa and firm co-founder Elizabeth Cabraser.
- New York University law professor Samuel Issacharoff (at the preivous hearing).
Defendant Attorneys:
- Arnold & Porter: Joseph Farris and Douglas Winthrop.
- Morrison & Foerster: Daralyn Durie.
- In-house: Jeff Bleich (General Counsel) and Devon Hanley Cook (Deputy General Counsel).
Class Plaintiff: Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, Kirk W. Johnson.
Authors’ Coordination Counsel (at the previous hearing): Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard’s Nancy Wolff and Fairmark’s Yinka Onayemi.
Publishers’ Coordination Counsel: Edelson PC’s Jay Edelson and J. Eli Wade-Scott, and Oppenheim + Zebrak’s Matt Oppenheim.
Claims Administrator: JND Legal Administration’s Jennifer Keough.