Music Publishers Sue Amazon-backed AI for Copyright Infringement

AI Company Anthropic Accused of Using Lyrics From Major Music Publishers Without Licensing Agreements; Firms Demand $150,000 Per Infringed Work

Major music publishers UMPG, Concord, and Abkco have sued AI startup company Anthropic for alleged copyright infringement of the publishers’ songs.
The lawsuit accuses Anthropic's AI assistant service Claude of copying song lyrics owned by the publishers and generating answers prompted by these lyrics, a practice common in licensed lyrics websites like Genius and LyricFind.
The publishers claim that when asked to provide lyrics or write songs on various themes, Claude produced lyrics from multiple copyrighted songs, including 'Roar' by Katy Perry and 'American Pie' by Don McLean, among others.
The suit alleges that Anthropic also produced copyrighted chords and lyrics when asked to provide chords for a song, and copied significant portions of song lyrics when generating text in the style of specific musicians.
The publishers are seeking relief for direct copyright infringement, contributory infringement, vicarious infringement, and removal or alteration of copyright management information, with potential damages up to $150,000 for each work infringed.
Matthew J. Oppenheim, attorney for the publishers, emphasized that AI companies like any other technologies must abide by copyright laws, stating that unauthorized use of copyrighted material is illegal, harms songwriters and music publishers, and is not allowed for building a business without securing permission from rightsholders.