Anthropic copyright class action — Max Lugavere says Genius Foods was included (settlement approved)
Resolved
Per the September 2026 Dr. Will Cole episode description, Max Lugavere discussed “the real class-action lawsuit against Anthropic that Genius Foods is part of” — i.e., he said his books were among the works included in the authors’ class action (Bartz et al. v. Anthropic). A federal judge granted final approval to the $1.5 billion settlement on July 20, 2026 — the largest known U.S. copyright settlement, with an estimated ~$3,000 per eligible work, per Business Insurance.
Caveat: the claim that Genius Foods specifically was in the class comes from the podcast episode description, not a court filing the dossier’s research could verify — so it is attributed to Lugavere, not independently confirmed.
Timeline
- July 20, 2026 — Federal judge grants final approval to the $1.5 billion Bartz et al. v. Anthropic settlement.
- September 2026 — Lugavere discusses the class action on Dr. Will Cole’s show, saying Genius Foods was part of it (attributed to him, not independently verified in court filings).
