R27.5 billion victory: Zakes Mda's books used without permission in AI training, court rules
Zakes Mda and fellow authors secure a landmark $1.5 billion settlement against AI company Anthropic.
Image: File
Acclaimed South African author Zakes Mda has confirmed that he is among a group of writers who won a landmark class action lawsuit in the United States against the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, over the unauthorised use of their books to train AI models.
Speaking of the outcome, Mda said he revealed a few months ago that his novels, as well as those of Nadine Gordimer, were used to train AI without their permission.
"We did sue and there was a case they call class-action in the USA called Bartz v. Anthropic, which we, fellow writers whose books were used without our permission, won," he said.
The case, filed by a collective of authors including several high-profile literary figures, resulted in a $1.5 billion (R25,745,805,000) settlement.
Mda said he was informed of the development through his literary agents in London.
"There was a major copyright lawsuit in the US brought by authors against AI company Anthropic for using books without permission to train large language models," they told him. "A settlement agreement was preliminarily approved in September 2025. The settlement would see authors whose US publications have been used by the company to train AI models receive a share of $1.5 billion (R25,745,805,000).
Among Mda's works identified as having been used in AI training are: The Heart of Redness, The Madonna of Excelsior, The Whale Caller, She Plays with the Darkness, and Sometimes There Is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider.
Reflecting on the revelation, Mda added: "Damn! I didn't know of my contribution in the development of AI. But the only reason I am telling you this story is to ask the question: what about our South African writers?"
He questioned whether South African law provides any recourse for local authors whose works may have been used without permission, adding that it remains unclear if the 'fair use' doctrine protects their intellectual property in similar cases.
"Don't be deceived by the billions. They are not all coming to me. They are shared by many writers in the USA. But at least, however little, I will be compensated for each of the books that were used."
IOL News