Science & Tech · AI · 3 hrs ago
Anthropic says training Claude on song lyrics is fair use
Anthropic asked a California judge to find that using millions of song lyrics to train its chatbot Claude is allowed under US copyright law.
Universal Music Group and other publishers sued in 2023, saying the company used lyrics from hundreds of songs without permission.
Anthropic says training Claude helps it understand language and produce new content, while the publishers argue it can generate lyrics that compete with human songwriters.
The publishers said Claude received nearly 120,000 requests for generated lyrics over six months, but Anthropic said they had not shown specific harm to the market.
The judge questioned both sides’ arguments but did not issue a decision at the hearing in San Jose.
The case could help shape other AI copyright lawsuits, as judges have differed on whether training AI with copyrighted work qualifies as fair use; the judge’s decision is still pending.
Anthropic urged a California judge to rule that using millions of song lyrics to train its Claude chatbot is fair use under US copyright law.
The case stems from a 2023 lawsuit by Universal Music Group, Concord and ABKCO, which allege that Anthropic infringed copyrights in hundreds of songs.
At a hearing on Oct 21, Judge Eumi Lee questioned both sides but did not issue a ruling.
Anthropic says its training creates transformative content and that the publishers have not shown specific market harm.
The publishers argue that Claude can generate competing lyrics and threaten human songwriters.
- Who
- Anthropic and music publishers Universal Music Group, Concord and ABKCO are the parties. US District Judge Eumi Lee is hearing the case.
- What
- Anthropic asked the judge to find that its use of song lyrics to train Claude is fair use. The publishers allege copyright infringement.
- When
- The hearing took place on Oct 21, 2026.
- Where
- San Jose, California.
- Why
- The publishers say using their lyrics to train Claude and generate competing content infringes their copyrights and harms songwriters. Anthropic argues its use is transformative and that the publishers have not shown specific market harm.
Anthropic
Music publishers
Fair use
Anthropic
Anthropic says training Claude on lyrics creates transformative new content and is protected by fair use.
Music publishers
The publishers say Anthropic misuses lyrics to generate competing content that harms human songwriters.
Market impact
Anthropic
Anthropic says the publishers have not identified specific instances of market harm from Claude or other large language models.
Music publishers
The publishers argue Claude’s ability to generate lyrics threatens the market for their works.
Universal Music Group, Concord and ABKCO sued Anthropic over its use of song lyrics to train Claude.
Judge William Alsup sided with Anthropic in a separate case over the use of books for AI training.
Judge Vince Chhabria ruled for Meta in a similar case but warned that AI training “in many circumstances” would not be fair use.
Judge Eumi Lee heard arguments in the music publishers’ case but did not rule.
- Companies suing
- Universal Music Group, Concord and ABKCO
- Songs at issue
- Hundreds of songs, including works by Beyonce, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys
- Claude requests
- Nearly 120,000 requests to generate “synthetic” lyrics over six months, according to the publishers’ attorney
- Hearing location
- San Jose, California
- Hearing date
- Oct 21, 2026
What people are saying
could overwhelm the market with AI-generated content very easily
overwhelmingly a net positive