Universal Music sues Anthropic for unauthorized music in AI training
Universal Music Publishing Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO sued Anthropic for allegedly using over 20,000 copyrighted songs without authorization to train Claude. The plaintiffs seek damages exceeding $3 billion and claim the company used compositions including works by the Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, and Elton John.
What happened
Universal Music Publishing Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO filed a lawsuit against Anthropic alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted music in training Claude. The plaintiffs claim Anthropic used over 700 works without permission, including compositions by the Rolling Stones ('Wild Horses'), Neil Diamond ('Sweet Caroline'), and Elton John ('Bennie and the Jets').
The lawsuit alleges infringement of more than 20,000 songs total and seeks damages exceeding USD 3 billion. The plaintiffs stated this may be one of the largest non-collective copyright cases filed in the United States.
Reported impact
The music publishers assert the case could set a precedent in the music industry regarding protected content use in AI development. For Anthropic, the lawsuit presents a reputational challenge given the company's positioning as ethical AI.
Governance controls
Anthropic rejected the accusations according to the reports. The lawsuit revives arguments from a comparable litigation initiated by the same publishers against Anthropic in 2023 related to using their works to train Claude.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.