Harpercollins - GoKawiil

Publishers Shift From AI Lawsuits to Licensing Deals and Partnerships

While author-driven and publisher lawsuits against AI companies continue, major publishers including HarperCollins, Wiley, and Penguin Random House are also striking licensing agreements and partnerships with AI firms like Google. HarperCollins signed a $5,000-per-title AI training deal in 2024, and Wiley reported $49 million in AI licensing revenue for fiscal 2026, alongside collaborations with Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic. A 2025 industry survey found 63% of publishing professionals now use AI internally for tasks like royalty statements and proofreading.

news.slashdot.org · 2026-09-21

Authors dispute publisher claims on Anthropic's $1.5B book piracy settlement

As payments begin from Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement over pirated training data, some authors say publishers and literary agents are wrongly claiming their share of the $3,000-per-book payouts. Writers including April Henry report publishers claiming full payments or rights to books whose rights had reverted to the author years earlier. Watchdog Victoria Strauss says the pattern likely stems from sloppy recordkeeping rather than deliberate wrongdoing, and some publishers have already asked Anthropic to correct the errors.

techcrunch.com · 2026-09-06