Music Publishers Say Anthropic Is ‘Built on Piracy.’ Now They’re Suing for $3 Billion.
Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group claim the AI company illegally downloaded songs, lyrics, and sheet music to train Claude.
Claude is a music thief, according to a coalition of major music publishers now suing for $3 billion. Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group are suing Claude creator Anthropic, claiming the company illegally downloaded more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, song lyrics, and musical compositions. The publishers said damages could exceed $3 billion, making it one of the largest non-class action copyright cases in U.S. history.
The lawsuit comes from the same legal team behind Bartz v. Anthropic, where authors accused the AI company of using copyrighted works to train its products. In that case, Judge William Alsup ruled it’s legal to train models on copyrighted content but illegal to acquire that content through piracy. Anthropic paid $1.5 billion.
The lawsuit strikes a harsh note. “While Anthropic misleadingly claims to be an AI ‘safety and research’ company, its record of illegal torrenting makes clear that its multibillion-dollar business empire has been built on piracy,” it states.
Claude is a music thief, according to a coalition of major music publishers now suing for $3 billion. Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group are suing Claude creator Anthropic, claiming the company illegally downloaded more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, song lyrics, and musical compositions. The publishers said damages could exceed $3 billion, making it one of the largest non-class action copyright cases in U.S. history.
The lawsuit comes from the same legal team behind Bartz v. Anthropic, where authors accused the AI company of using copyrighted works to train its products. In that case, Judge William Alsup ruled it’s legal to train models on copyrighted content but illegal to acquire that content through piracy. Anthropic paid $1.5 billion.
The lawsuit strikes a harsh note. “While Anthropic misleadingly claims to be an AI ‘safety and research’ company, its record of illegal torrenting makes clear that its multibillion-dollar business empire has been built on piracy,” it states.
