Authors are at odds with publishers over the $1.5 billion settlement from Anthropic, which used pirated books to train its AI chatbot Claude. The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California approved the class-action case in July, covering over 482,000 books. While some titles have clear ownership, authors and publishers frequently dispute rights, says Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, which has 18,000 members.

She fears publishers may not keep accurate records of reverted rights. Authors could receive up to $3,000 per infringed book but must share proceeds with publishers and co-authors. Textbook authors face steeper cuts—10 to 15 percent—per their contracts.

April Henry, a best-selling author, found HarperCollins claimed partial ownership of her 1999 book 'Circles of Confusion,' though she regained rights in 2007. After submitting proof, she received the full $3,000. Another author, Amy Lupold Bair, criticized her publisher for reducing her share to 10 percent instead of the default 50/50 split.

Delays in payment distribution have also frustrated authors expecting payouts as early as August.