Elvis Presley Rightsholders Sue Anthropic for Training AI Model Claude on 274 Songs Without Permission

Authentic Brands Group Takes Legal Action Against Anthropic

Authentic Brands Group, the licensing entity controlling Elvis Presley music and likeness, filed an Anthropic lawsuit on Friday alleging the AI company trained its models on 274 of the King's songs without obtaining permission1

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. The suit, filed alongside other rightsholders who control Presley's catalog, seeks $150,000 per infringed song—totaling approximately $41 million in damages2

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. Lead attorney Richard Busch, who previously represented the Marvin Gaye estate in the landmark "Blurred Lines" case, stated that "The Elvis Plaintiffs are deeply protective of these iconic songs"1

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AI Model Claude Accused of Creating Infringing Outputs

The lawsuit alleges that Anthropic's AI model Claude was trained on songs without permission, including hits like "All Shook Up," "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Don't Be Cruel," "A Little Less Conversation," and "Jailhouse Rock"1

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. The complaint contends that Claude has produced infringing outputs of copyrighted material from virtually every song catalog available on the internet. Even after Anthropic implemented supposed guardrails following previous legal challenges, the AI training continues to generate problematic results. When asked to recreate specific songs "for a modern audience," Claude admitted: "These renders keep landing very close to the originals: same structure, same hooks reused with light rewording, and full sets of verses/choruses/bridges. That's edging past 'inspired by' into reproducing the copyrighted song, even when the words are swapped out"1

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Escalating Copyright Battles in AI Development

This case represents one of the first major instances where an artist's estate has brought legal action directly against an AI company, marking a significant development in copyright law enforcement1

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. While AI companies have previously faced lawsuits from record labels like Universal Music Publishing and Warner Bros., as well as the RIAA, the involvement of an artist's estate signals a new front in copyright infringement battles. The lawsuit argues that Anthropic built its entire business model on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before, using Presley's songs to create unlicensed derivative works through their AI models1

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Pattern of Legal Challenges Against Anthropic

Anthropic faces mounting legal pressure beyond this Elvis Presley case. In August, Round Hill sued both Suno and Anthropic, claiming mass copyright infringement through the unauthorized use of hundreds of songs to train AI models. Anthropic was also previously sued by Universal Music Publishing, Abcko, Concord, and BMG for similar claims involving lyrics being utilized to train Claude without permission2

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. These repeated legal challenges raise questions about how AI companies source training data and whether current guardrails adequately protect rightsholders. The outcome of this lawsuit could establish precedent for how copyright law applies to AI training and whether companies can continue sued for using music to train AI systems without explicit licensing agreements. Watch for potential settlements or court rulings that could reshape AI development practices across the industry.