Elvis Presley song owners sue Anthropic over Claude training

Owners of Elvis Presley's song catalog sued Anthropic on Friday, 23 October, alleging the company trained its Claude models on 274 Presley songs without permission.

Anthropic said it "disagrees and will defend itself", according to a roundup of the case that summarised a New York Times report. The wording is relayed by the roundup and is not confirmed as verbatim from the original article.

The suit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs seek a jury trial and more than $41 million, which equates to $150,000 per song.

According to the roundup of the New York Times report, the plaintiffs include Authentic Brands Group, Raleigh Music Publishing, several trusts and at least one individual.

The complaint also alleges that Anthropic circumvented protection measures and removed copyright management information from the songs.

Music publishers including Universal Music Group and Concord sued Anthropic earlier over alleged use of pirated libraries. Potential damages in that case reach up to $3 billion.

The filing details have not been verified against the original New York Times report or the complaint. Anthropic has said it will defend itself, and the plaintiffs have asked for a jury trial.