Anthropic Faces Copyright Claims Over AI Use of Song Lyrics

Anthropic must face claims from music publishers that its AI model, Claude, facilitated copyright infringement by allowing users to access song lyrics, according to Bloomberg Law. U.S. District Judge Eumi K. Lee denied Anthropic's motion to dismiss claims of contributory and vicarious infringement, as well as violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The lawsuit, initiated by music publishers including Universal Music Group and Concord, alleges that Anthropic's Claude model enabled users to infringe on copyrights by reproducing song lyrics without permission. The publishers argue that Anthropic was aware of this infringement and profited from it, as the AI model's popularity is partly due to its access to copyrighted lyrics.

Judge Lee's decision allows the case to proceed, noting that the plaintiffs' amended complaint plausibly alleges that Anthropic could have known about the infringing activities and benefited from them. The court will further consider the plaintiffs' request to amend their complaint to include a piracy claim.