Elvis Presley estate sues Anthropic over AI training on 274 songs
Authentic Brands Group alleges Anthropic trained its Claude AI model on 274 Presley songs without permission and seeks about $41m in damages.
What you need to know
The owners of Elvis Presley's music catalogue have sued Anthropic, alleging the company trained its Claude AI model on 274 Presley songs without permission. According to The Guardian, the suit was filed on Friday and seeks about $41m in damages.
- Authentic Brands Group owns Presley's music catalogue and likeness
- The suit alleges Anthropic used 274 Presley songs for training
- Tracks cited include Can't Help Falling in Love and All Shook Up
- Plaintiffs seek $150,000 per infringed track, about $41m
- The Guardian describes it as one of the first major estate-led challenges to an AI developer
What the lawsuit alleges
The Guardian reports that Authentic Brands Group, the licensing organisation that owns both Presley's music and his likeness, filed the lawsuit on Friday. It accuses Anthropic of infringing the rights of 274 Presley songs.
Among the cited tracks are Can't Help Falling in Love, All Shook Up and A Little Less Conversation. The plaintiffs are seeking $150,000 per infringed track, or about $41m.
A lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Richard Busch, wrote in the filing that the action is meant to enforce exclusive rights against a defendant he accused of building its business model on copyright infringement at an unprecedented scale.
Guardrails and the wider dispute
The lawsuit contends that Anthropic used the Presley recordings to train its Claude model. It further alleges that the company's addition of guardrails, which the plaintiffs describe as ineffective, shows it knowingly and wilfully continued to infringe musical works.
The Guardian frames the case as one of the first major challenges brought directly by an artist's estate against an AI developer. Other copyright claims have come from the Recording Industry Association of America and labels including Sony, Universal and Warner Records.
The outcome could influence how AI companies are permitted to use existing music catalogues. Musicians have repeatedly raised concerns about their music and voices being used without permission, and Spotify said last week it had removed about 50m songs deemed AI slop from recommendations over the past year.
Who owns Elvis Presley's music catalogue?
Authentic Brands Group, the licensing organisation that holds ownership of both Presley's music and his likeness, according to The Guardian. It is the plaintiff in the lawsuit against Anthropic.
Sources & context
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