Authors* Get Class Certification in Bartz v. Anthropic
*Some (but not all) authors in the case granted class certification
There can be no dispute that Artificial Intelligence issues are dominating the Copyright Law space right now in the United States. Legal professionals and creative industry workers are approaching an inflection point. Can Big Tech act with impunity and do whatever it wants with legally protected works without consequence? That is the significance of the litigation discussed herein.
If you are new to this newsletter, or did not have an opportunity to read the update about the Bartz v. Anthropic litigation currently pending in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, go read the prior update first and then come back. You will need that context for what follows:
When the last update was published in late June, the Court had issued a ruling on what alleged conduct by the Plaintiff was and was not fair use. Now, let us look at a significant ruling in this case from last week that could have a profound effect not only on the litigants in the case, but also on the AI and publishing industries in general.
Class Certification: the Holy Grail of Plaintiff Side Legal Work
Previously in this case, the Plaintiffs sought to obtain class certification. On July 17, 2025, the Court ruled on this request. The result is a big win for creatives involved in the case and also elsewhere around the world. As you will see below, however, the Court’s order is a bit more nuanced than what is being reported.
In the context of the Bartz litigation, there are multiple groups of allegedly aggrieved parties. The groups arise from the allegation that Anthropic used three separate online libraries of pirated books. See, Order at p.3, LL 6-9. Those pirated libraries are referred to as:
Library Genesis (“LibGen”);
Books3: and
Z-Library, which was shut down by the FBI. Third parties mirrored Z-Library into an online library called the Pirate Library Mirror (“PiLiMi”).
…Plaintiffs thus allege that up to seven million copies of books were stolen by Anthropic in this Napster-like way from all three pirate libraries. Although neither side has systematically tallied the overlap in the books copied from each pirate library, all agree there remains obvious overlap at least in popular titles obtained from each…
See, Order at 3.
Seven million. That’s a lot of books.
The Court concluded that class certification is proper for certain groups of plaintiffs, but not all. The class definition adopted by the Court in this case is as follows:
All beneficial or legal copyright owners of the exclusive right to reproduce copies of any book in the versions of LibGen or PiLiMi downloaded by Anthropic. “Book” refers to any work possessing an ISBN or ASIN which was registered with the United States Copyright Office within five years of the work’s publication and which was registered with the United States Copyright Office before being downloaded by Anthropic, or within three months of publication. Excluded are the directors, officers and employees of Anthropic, personnel of federal agencies, and district court personnel.
Order at 11, LL 1 - 6.
The Court then engages in a lengthy and comprehensive analysis of the application of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 231 to the facts of the case (facts for the purpose of the motion). It is worth a read for legal practitioners.
The Court grants class certification for the LibGen and PiLiMi Pirated Books Class, and denies certification of a class for the Book3 and scanned books plaintiffs. Order at 31.
You can read the Court’s July 17th Order below:
For authors, and for creatives that work in other types of media, this case is one to follow closely. The certified class includes potentially millions of claimaints, who arguably will have access to statutory damages under the Copyright Act.
More to follow. Thanks for reading.
-JBT
Rule 23 is the procedural rule which addresses class action litigation.
J. Bryan Tuk is the founder of Tuk Business & Entertainment Law, and the author of risk, create change: a survival guide for startups and creatives. In addition to twenty five years of private practice as an attorney, Bryan is also a professional musician and producer, and a member of The Recording Academy and the American Society of Composers and Producers.
I really enjoyed reading this newsletter. You have got such a thoughtful way of presenting ideas, in this context, copyright. If you get a chance, I’d love for you to check out my newsletter sometime as well.