Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement Next Steps
Reviewing Consolidated Claim, Negotiating Allocation Percentage Differences

Updated Guidance 9-25-2026

Since the claims notices went out at the beginning of September, TAA has been speaking with authors and the claims administrators to better understand this phase of the process. All claimants, whether “educational” (textbook) or “non-educational” (trade and academic) have received these notices. You need to log in to the portal and confirm or change what is there to have “participated” in this stage of the process and preserve your claims.

Here's what you need to do:

You should have received an email in early September that contained a link to the portal with your login information.

1. Log into the "consolidated claim" portal with the claim number and pin provided to you in the email. At this point you can see the settlement payment percentage each co-claimant put down. These splits are NOT final and were not reviewed or approved by the court.   

   
   
2. Undisputed Claims: For undisputed claims, you can simply review the consolidated claim information, select "no changes" or "update allocation" and follow the steps to submit the form. See the "Next Steps for All Claimants" section below for additional information on completing the submission process – you must complete these to get paid.  


   
   
3. Disputed Claims: A disputed claim is one in which different claimants to a work – usually authors and publishers – are claiming different percentage splits of the payout for that work. For disputed claims, no payouts can happen until the allocation split can be resolved.  Some textbook authors are reporting that publishers are claiming 85-100% of the total amount. You do not have to accept that percentage allocation.
   
   The settlement administrator is calling this stage the “meet and confer” process, the idea being that the disputing claimants should meet and try to work out the splits between them, with the administrator facilitating the process. It is not clear to us what this process requires, what help the administrator is providing, or even who you should be talking to at your publisher. We also have not seen evidence that authors who have tried to negotiate with their publishers are having much success. 
   
   Our best understanding is that the minimum you need to do is:



• Login and confirm the allocations you put down. If you have several books you may have to do this for each one. Just click “next” to make no changes. See more details in paragraphs 4 - 6.


  
  
• Email the settlement administrator asking them to provide you with contact information for the other claimants for each disputed work. Here is the email address: [email protected]. Keep a copy of the email you sent. If they provide you with that information, or if your publisher or other authors on the claim reach out to you to “meet and confer,” you can engage in these discussions. 


  
  
• You have the right – but are not obligated - to upload additional documentation in support of your claim, such as a letter confirming rights have reverted to you, or a copy of your contract that you believe supports your claim, or a narrative explanation of your arguments for your split. You can also use these materials if your publisher reaches out to you to “meet and confer.”

• Unless you and the other claimants work out a new allocation during this “meet and confer” process, the last step is to request that your claim be reviewed by the Special Master. It will not go to the Special Master if you do not request that it does. 


  
  The process used by the Special Master to review and make decisions on claims has not yet been finalized. 



Next steps for ALL claimants



1. When reviewing your "consolidated claim," you will be prompted to enter your SSN or TIN. If you don't do that, you have not completed the process and it will delay any payments reaching you.


   
   
2. Non-US authors should include their Foreign Tax Identification Number (FTIN) on the W-8BEN form. For Canadians, that is the Social Insurance Number. Most authors would have their FTIN registered with their publisher for royalty payments, so use that number (varies by country). Upload the completed and signed W-8BEN form to the update information portal. When updating or submitting your form through the consolidated claim portal, skip the section asking you to enter an SSN or TIN, and indicate you do not want to enter it. You should then be able to proceed with the form.


   
   
3. To complete the process, you will need to “sign” your name to a certification form.

Special Guidance for Textbook Author Claimants Who Want to Negotiate the Allocation Percentage Claimed By Their Publisher

Textbook authors – called authors of “education works” in the settlement —  were the only group of authors not given the option of a 50/50 default split with their publishers. If you are a TAA member author, you have members-only access to special guidance containing tips and suggestions for looking at your contract to come up with the strongest arguments for what you should receive (see buttons above). This guidance is being provided by fellow TAA member and Board Member Brenda Ulrich, an intellectual property attorney at Archstone Law, for TAA members only. Join TAA for only $30.

When To Expect Payments to Arrive

In a status report filed with the court by class counsel, they stated that distributions to class members would start no later than November 15, 2026, “for works where all rightsholders are in agreement and where all necessary payment information is provided.”

The report also stated that “After deduction of fees, services awards, and expenses, each Work is allotted approximately $2,203.56 of funds currently in the Settlement Fund, which does not yet include Anthropic’s final payment of $450 million plus interest.” This means that this is the first payment to be made to claimants and that a second payment would be forthcoming once Anthropic makes its final payment, which they are required to make by September 2027. “For any works where multiple claimants do not (or do not yet) agree on the proposed per-work distribution,” according to the Status Report, “payments will begin as soon as possible—after the claimants reach agreement or the disagreement is otherwise resolved by the Special Master—and the amount will be included in either the initial distribution or subsequent distributions.”

Please note: TAA does not represent any individual authors in this case and any statements it makes with regard to the case are not and should not be taken as legal advice. TAA is trying to help its members understand and navigate the claims process, but each author will have to look at their own contract to determine the best course of action in their particular circumstances. For legal advice on your own particular claim, we recommend you speak to your attorney. 

Questions? Contact Kim Pawlak, TAA Executive Director at (507) 459-1363 or [email protected] or the Settlement Administrator at (877) 206-2314 or [email protected].

Support TAA’s Advocacy for Textbook and Academic Authors in the Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement. While critical in supporting textbook and academic authors whose works are included in the Settlement, TAA’s advocacy efforts have been costly— and we could use your help to defray those costs. Learn more