BMG sues Anthropic for allegedly training Claude chatbot with Bruno Mars and Rolling Stones lyrics

BMG sues Anthropic for using Bruno Mars, Rolling Stones lyrics in AI training

March 18 (Reuters) - Music company BMG Rights Management has sued artificial intelligence company Anthropic in California federal court for allegedly using its copyrighted lyrics to train the large language models powering its Claude chatbot. BMG said in the complaint, opens new tab filed on Tuesday that Anthropic copied and reproduced lyrics from hit songs by the Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and other prominent rock and pop musicians, infringing hundreds ⁠of copyrights. The lawsuit is the latest among dozens of high-stakes cases brought by authors, news outlets, and other copyright owners against tech companies for using their work in training the models behind their chatbots. BMG rival Universal Music Group and other music publishers filed a related lawsuit against Anthropic in 2023, which is ongoing. Anthropic settled another AI training lawsuit brought by a group of authors for $1.5 billion last year. Spokespeople for Anthropic did ⁠not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. "Anthropic's practice of training AI models on copyrighted works sourced from unauthorized torrent sites, among other acts, stands in direct opposition to the standards required of any responsible ⁠participant in the AI community," BMG said in a statement. AI companies have argued that they make fair use of copyrighted material by transforming it into ⁠something new. BMG, owned by German media group Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F), opens new tab, cited 493 examples of copyrights that Anthropic allegedly infringed. Statutory damages for copyright infringement ⁠under U.S. law can range from hundreds of dollars up to $150,000 per work if the court finds the infringement was willful. Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; editing by David Gaffen, Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Litigation * Intellectual Property Blake Brittain Thomson Reuters Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, for Reuters Legal. He has previously written for Bloomberg Law and Thomson Reuters Practical Law and practiced as an attorney.

BMG Sues Anthropic for Alleged Training of Chatbot With Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Rolling Stones Lyrics

Kim Kardashian Denies Involvement in Sex Tape Release. Ray J's Lawyer Calls it 'Perjury' Music rights management company BMG has sued Anthropic, accusing the artificial intelligence firm of running "roughshod over the rights" of songwriters, from Grammy-winning stars to emerging artists. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in California, BMG claims Anthropic used lyrics from artists including Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, and the Rolling Stones to train its Claude chatbot without authorization. The company claims the infringement dates to Anthropic's founding, when it allegedly used automated scraping tools to copy text from public websites and illegal online pirate libraries. "Anthropic's illegal conduct does not stop with these multiple direct infringements," the complaint, obtained by Rolling Stone, claims. "Anthropic also facilitates, encourages, and profits from copyright infringement by its licensees and users of its Claude models." The suit alleges Anthropic is secondarily liable for contributory and vicarious infringement tied to those uses. Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company was founded in 2021 by former staffers of OpenAI, the research lab behind ChatGPT. The new lawsuit is the latest in a wave of claims against artificial intelligence companies. In the 47-page complaint, BMG argues that Anthropic clearly trained its models on BMG-managed music because Claude has readily supplied users with all or significant portions of the chart-topping songs "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones," and Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World." "BMG has never authorized Anthropic to use its copyrighted compositions in connection with Claude," the lawsuit states. It adds that Anthropic did not respond to a cease-and-desist letter sent in December 2025 or engage in licensing discussions. BMG contends Anthropic's rapid growth does not excuse the alleged violations. "Generations of inventors have brought revolutionary new products to market while complying with copyright law," the complaint states. "Anthropic's rapid development of its new technology is no excuse for its egregious law-breaking." BMG is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per allegedly infringed work, along with a court order requiring Anthropic to disclose details about its training data, methods, and model capabilities, including identifying any BMG-controlled material used. The lawsuit also accuses Anthropic of continuing the alleged infringement despite mounting legal challenges. "Anthropic could cease its infringing conduct at any time," the complaint states. "Yet, despite repeated lawsuits from creators and owners of a variety of copyrighted works and a specific written request from BMG to stop the wrongdoing at issue in this lawsuit, Anthropic has refused to do so, making a mockery of its stated founding principles of building a better and 'broadly ethical' AI model."

BMG sues Anthropic for using Bruno Mars, Rolling Stones lyrics in AI training

Music company BMG Rights Management has sued AI startup Anthropic. The lawsuit claims Anthropic used copyrighted song lyrics to train its AI chatbots. This is one of many lawsuits against tech companies for using creative works. Anthropic previously settled a similar case with authors. The music industry is taking legal action over AI training data. Music company BMG Rights Management has sued artificial intelligence startup Anthropic in California federal court for allegedly using its copyrighted lyrics to train the large language models powering its Claude chatbot. BMG said in the complaint filed ⁠on ⁠Tuesday that Anthropic copied and reproduced lyrics from hit songs by the Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and other prominent rock and pop musicians, infringing hundreds of copyrights. The lawsuit is the latest among dozens of high-stakes cases brought by authors, news ⁠outlets, and other copyright owners against tech companies for using their work in training large language models ⁠behind their chatbots. BMG rival Universal Music Group and other music publishers filed a related lawsuit against Anthropic in 2023, which is still ongoing. Anthropic settled another AI training lawsuit brought by a group of authors for $1.5 billion last year. Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. AI companies have argued that they make fair use of copyrighted material ⁠by transforming it into something new. BMG, owned by German media group Bertelsmann, cited 493 examples of copyrights that Anthropic allegedly infringed. Statutory damages for copyright infringement under U.S. law can range from hundreds of dollars up to $150,000 per work if the court finds the infringement was willful.

BMG sues Anthropic for using Bruno Mars, Rolling Stones lyrics in AI training

March 18 (Reuters) - Music company BMG Rights Management has sued artificial intelligence startup Anthropic in California federal court for allegedly using its copyrighted lyrics to train the large language models powering its Claude chatbot. BMG said in the complaint filed on Tuesday that Anthropic copied and reproduced lyrics from hit songs by the Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande and other prominent rock and pop musicians, infringing hundreds of copyrights. The lawsuit is the latest among dozens of high-stakes cases brought by authors, news outlets, and other copyright owners against tech companies for using their work in training large language models behind their chatbots. BMG rival Universal Music Group and other music publishers filed a related lawsuit against Anthropic in 2023, which is still ongoing. Anthropic settled another AI training lawsuit brought by a group of authors for $1.5 billion last year. Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. AI companies have argued that they make fair use of copyrighted material by transforming it into something new. BMG, owned by German media group Bertelsmann, cited 493 examples of copyrights that Anthropic allegedly infringed. Statutory damages for copyright infringement under U.S. law can range from hundreds of dollars up to $150,000 per work if the court finds the infringement was willful. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; editing by David Gaffen)