A federal judge ruled that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books to train its AI model Claude qualifies as “fair use” and is “quintessentially transformative.” Judge William Alsup found the company did not reproduce authors’ creative elements or styles, likening the use to a reader learning to write. This marks a legal win for AI firms amid ongoing copyright disputes. However, the judge allowed a trial to proceed over Anthropic's alleged use of pirated books in forming a “central library,” which may lead to damages. The lawsuit was filed by authors accusing Anthropic of stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted works. Anthropic said the ruling supports copyright’s role in promoting creativity and scientific progress.
