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Elvis Presley's Rights Holders Sue Anthropic Over AI Training
Confirmed
In Short: The owners of Elvis Presley’s intellectual property rights have launched a legal battle against Anthropic, the tech company behind the AI chatbot Claude.
The owners of Elvis Presley’s intellectual property rights have launched a legal battle against Anthropic, the tech company behind the AI chatbot Claude. The lawsuit, filed on October 23, claims that Anthropic infringed on the copyrights of 274 of Presley’s songs, including iconic hits like 'Can’t Help Falling in Love' and 'A Little Less Conversation.'
The plaintiffs, represented by a unit of Authentic Brands Group, argue that Anthropic built its AI models by scraping protected artistic property at an unprecedented scale. They are seeking maximum statutory damages of $150,000 per song, potentially totaling around $50 million, along with reimbursement of court costs and attorneys' fees.
Lead attorney Richard Busch wrote in the lawsuit, 'The Elvis Plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before.' The plaintiffs emphasize that Anthropic’s actions go beyond mere inspiration and into the reproduction of copyrighted material.
The lawsuit highlights that Anthropic’s AI models have generated infringing versions of Presley’s songs, even when the lyrics are altered. This practice is part of a broader trend where AI companies are accused of using copyrighted material to train their models without permission.
Anthropic has faced multiple lawsuits over its AI training practices. Last year, the company agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by authors who alleged the company had illegally used pirated copies of their books to train AI models.
A spokesperson for Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. The company is currently battling other lawsuits from Universal Music Publishing Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO, which allege that Claude has reproduced copyrighted lyrics without authorization.
The legal battle over AI music has primarily centered on Suno, the leading AI song generator, which was sued in 2024 by all three major music companies over similar training accusations. However, this new lawsuit involving Elvis Presley’s music adds a high-profile figure to the ongoing debate over AI and copyright infringement.
The plaintiffs argue that Anthropic’s actions are not just a violation of copyright law but also a threat to the integrity of Presley’s legacy. They assert that the company’s use of Presley’s songs without permission undermines the exclusive rights of the artists and their estates.
Despite Anthropic’s previous efforts to introduce guardrails to prevent such issues, the plaintiffs claim that the problem persists. This lawsuit underscores the ongoing challenges faced by AI companies in navigating the complex landscape of copyright law.
As the legal battle unfolds, Anthropic is likely to face a formidable legal challenge, with the plaintiffs seeking substantial damages and a precedent-setting ruling.
The case highlights the broader implications of AI training practices on the music industry and the need for clearer guidelines and regulations to protect intellectual property rights.
What's confirmed
- The owners of Elvis Presley’s music have sued Anthropic for allegedly using his copyrighted lyrics without permission to train its AI models and generating infringing versions of his songs.
- As reported by Billboard, the plaintiffs allege that Anthropic, the company behind the AI chatbot Claude, infringed the copyrights of 274 songs associated with Presley, including some of his best-known hits, such as ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’, ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘A Little Less Conversation’, ‘Return To Sender’ and ‘(You’re The) Devil In Disguise’.
- “The Elvis Plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before,” lead attorney Richard Busch wrote.
- Billboard first reported that Authentic Brands Group, the licensing group that controls the King’s music and likeness, filed its lawsuit Friday, alleges that Anthropic — the AI giant behind Claude — infringed on the rights of 274 of Presley’s songs.
- Authentic Brands Group, which owns the rights to Presley, filed the lawsuit alongside other entities that also own rights to the “Jailhouse Rock” singer, according to Billboard.
- “‘Claude’ has created infringing output of copyrighted material of virtually every song from every catalog available on the internet, including the Works,” the lawsuit states, per Rolling Stone.
What's still developing
- The owners of The King's IP are cracking down on the tech giant, adding one of music's most legendary figures to the massive legal battle over AI music.
- It eventually settled with Warner Music Group last year and has vowed to partner with the music industry, but is still facing contentious litigation from UMG and Sony Music.
- The lawsuit also cites “All Shook Up,” “Return to Sender” and “(You’re The) Devil in Disguise”.
- Some AI bots have even begun impersonating real living artists on music streaming platforms.
- However, Anthropic is fighting multiple lawsuits at once and will undoubtedly have a string of very expensive lawyers on hand.
- The Silicon Valley company behind the popular Claude chatbot said it's banning "sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior" toward its artificial intelligence models, part of broader policy changes announced on Thursday.
- "Controlling something more capable and more intelligent than all of humanity is already an immense challenge, far greater than anything we've ever faced," Suleyman wrote.