Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Sony and Warner Sue Anthropic Over Claude Copyright Claims
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music are suing Anthropic, the company that makes Claude.
They say Anthropic used many songs, lyrics, and music scores without permission to teach its AI.
The publishers allege that some material came from torrents, scraped websites, and digital archives.
They say Claude can sometimes produce lyrics that are exactly the same as real songs.
They also say Claude can create new lyrics that are very similar to copyrighted songs.
The publishers believe this could hurt songwriters and licensed lyric services.
Anthropic disagrees and says training AI on copyrighted material can be fair use.
The company says it will strongly defend itself in court.
The publishers want money and a court order stopping Anthropic from using the works.
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music sued Anthropic in a Northern California federal court on August 28.
The publishers allege Anthropic obtained and used tens of thousands of copyrighted songs, lyrics, and sheet music to train Claude.
The complaint cites torrent downloads, online scraping, Library Genesis, Pirate Library Mirror, Musixmatch, and LyricFind.
Sony and Warner claim Claude can reproduce lyrics verbatim or generate substantially similar lyrics that compete with licensed works.
They seek damages, a ban on using the works, destruction of infringing copies, and information about Claude’s training materials.
- Who
- Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music sued Anthropic; the complaint also names CEO Dario Amodei and co-founder Benjamin Mann.
- What
- The publishers allege Anthropic infringed copyrights by obtaining and using musical works to train Claude AI models.
- When
- The case was filed on August 28; reports also describe the filing as occurring on a Friday.
- Where
- A federal court in Northern California, California.
- Why
- The publishers say Anthropic used their works without permission or payment and that Claude’s outputs may compete with copyrighted music and licensed lyric platforms.
Music Publishers’ Allegations
Anthropic’s Response
Use of copyrighted works
Music Publishers’ Allegations
Sony and Warner allege Anthropic unlawfully obtained and used tens of thousands of copyrighted compositions, lyrics, and sheet music to train Claude without permission or licensing payments.
Anthropic’s Response
Anthropic says training generative AI models on copyrighted material can constitute fair use and says it will defend itself robustly.
Source of the material
Music Publishers’ Allegations
The complaint alleges that Anthropic used torrent downloads, large-scale scraping, digital archives, and lyrics platforms to acquire protected works.
Anthropic’s Response
Anthropic called the lawsuit a recycling of allegations from cases already before the courts; the reported response did not provide a separate account of how the cited music was obtained.
Claude’s market impact
Music Publishers’ Allegations
The publishers claim Claude can reproduce lyrics verbatim and generate substantially similar lyrics that compete with licensed lyric platforms, songwriters, and rights holders.
Anthropic’s Response
Anthropic rejected the allegations, but the reported response did not specifically address the claims about Claude’s lyric outputs.
Effect of the earlier settlement
Music Publishers’ Allegations
Sony and Warner argue that Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement over pirated books did not resolve music publishers’ separate claims or provide a general licence for copyrighted music.
Anthropic’s Response
Anthropic cited the earlier authors’ case and the court’s fair-use ruling in support of its position on AI training.
- Plaintiffs
- Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music
- Defendants
- Anthropic, Dario Amodei, and Benjamin Mann
- AI system
- Claude
- Alleged scale
- At least 20,000 works or, more broadly, tens of thousands of copyrighted musical works; one report describes hundreds of cited lyrics and sheet-music examples.
- Alleged acquisition methods
- Torrent downloads, large-scale online scraping, digital archives including Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror, and lyrics platforms including Musixmatch and LyricFind
- Potential statutory damages
- Up to $150,000 for each work allegedly infringed wilfully, plus up to $25,000 for each alleged violation involving removed or altered copyright-management information
- Related settlement
- Anthropic agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement with authors and publishers in a separate dispute involving pirated books used for AI training.
Sources
Sony Music, Warner Chappell Sue Anthropic Over Alleged Copyright Infringement In Claude AI Training
Anthropic has already paid $1.5 billion: Why Sony Music and Warner Chappell still want more
Major Music Labels Sue Anthropic Over Misuse Of "Tens Of Thousands" Of Copyrighted Songs
