Elvis Rights Holders Sue Anthropic Over AI Training on Music

WHO:

Techmeme - Anthropic said it disagrees with the lawsuit and will defend itself.

The Guardian - Authentic Brands Group, which owns the rights to Elvis Presley’s music and likeness, is bringing the lawsuit.

The Guardian - Lead attorney Richard Busch wrote that the lawsuit seeks to enforce exclusive rights against Anthropic.

NBC News - The owners of Elvis Presley’s music filed a lawsuit against Anthropic.

Pitchfork - The lawsuit concerns Elvis Presley, also known as “The King,” and AI company Anthropic.

WHAT:

Variety - The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California and is 28 pages long.

The Guardian - The lawsuit is described as one of the first major legal challenges brought directly by an artist’s estate against an AI developer.

The Guardian - The suit alleges Anthropic’s guardrails intended to limit copyright-infringing outputs were ineffective, and says the company continued infringing after becoming aware of that.

The Guardian - The plaintiffs’ lawsuit was first reported by Billboard.

The Guardian - Spotify said it had removed about 50 million songs it considered AI slop from user recommendations over the past year.

The Guardian - The lawsuit names songs including “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “All Shook Up” and “A Little Less Conversation.”

The Guardian - Plaintiffs seek $150,000 per infringed track, totaling about $41 million, or about £31 million.

The Guardian - The lawsuit alleges Claude has produced infringing material from virtually every song catalog available on the internet.

NBC News - Elvis Presley’s music rights holders sued Anthropic, alleging the company used his copyrighted lyrics without permission to train its AI models and generated infringing versions of his songs.

Pitchfork - The lawsuit alleges Anthropic illegally used 274 songs by Elvis Presley to train Claude, its AI model.

WHY:

Variety - The plaintiffs allege Anthropic prioritized a potential multitrillion-dollar stock opening over respecting Elvis Presley’s copyrights.

The Guardian - Musicians have raised concerns that AI models use their music and voices without permission and that AI-generated music could replace human-made songs.

NBC News - The rights holders allege that Anthropic used copyrighted lyrics without permission and generated infringing song versions.

Pitchfork - The lawsuit claims Anthropic’s use of 274 songs to train Claude infringed copyright.

HOW:

The Guardian - AI music platforms analyze recorded music to learn songs’ sounds, structures and expressions, then let users generate music using text or speech prompts.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 15:32 UTC)

Elvis Presley’s music rights holder, Authentic Brands Group, has sued AI company Anthropic, alleging it used copyrighted lyrics from 274 songs to train its Claude model without permission and generated infringing versions. The lawsuit names songs including “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “All Shook Up” and “A Little Less Conversation,” and seeks about $41 million in damages. Anthropic says it disagrees with the lawsuit and will defend itself.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 10:10 UTC)

Elvis Presley’s music rights holders are suing artificial intelligence company Anthropic, alleging it used copyrighted lyrics without permission to train its Claude model and generated infringing versions of songs. The lawsuit names 274 Presley songs, including “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “All Shook Up” and “A Little Less Conversation.” Authentic Brands Group, which owns rights to Presley’s music and likeness, is bringing the case. The plaintiffs allege Claude produced material from virtually every song catalog available online, and that Anthropic’s safeguards against copyright infringement were ineffective. They also say the company continued infringing after learning of the problem. The lawsuit seeks $150,000 per track, or about $41 million in total. It is described as one of the first major legal challenges by an artist’s estate directly against an AI developer. Anthropic says it disagrees with the lawsuit and will defend itself.

(UPDATED October 26, 2026 09:12 UTC)

Elvis Presley’s rights holders have sued AI company Anthropic, accusing it of using copyrighted lyrics without permission to train its Claude model and generating infringing versions of songs. Authentic Brands Group, which controls rights to Presley’s music and likeness, is bringing the case, one of the first major legal challenges by an artist’s estate directly against an AI developer. The lawsuit alleges Anthropic used 274 Presley songs, including “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “All Shook Up” and “A Little Less Conversation.” It says the company’s safeguards against copyright infringement were ineffective and that infringement continued after Anthropic became aware of the problem. The plaintiffs seek $150,000 for each infringed track, totaling about $41 million. The case comes amid wider concern from musicians that AI systems use their work without permission and could displace human-made music.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 22:00 UTC)

Elvis Presley’s music rights holders have sued AI company Anthropic, alleging it used copyrighted lyrics without permission to train its Claude model and generated infringing versions of songs. The lawsuit was brought by Authentic Brands Group, which owns the rights to Presley’s music and likeness. It claims Anthropic used 274 Presley songs to train Claude, including “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “All Shook Up” and “A Little Less Conversation.” Lead attorney Richard Busch says the case seeks to enforce the rights holders’ exclusive rights. The suit also alleges Claude has produced infringing material drawn from virtually every song catalog available online. AI music platforms can analyze recordings to learn their sounds, structures and expression, then generate music in response to text or spoken prompts. The plaintiffs seek $150,000 for each infringed track, a total of about $41 million, or £31 million.

(UPDATED October 25, 2026 20:00 UTC)

The owners of Elvis Presley’s music rights have sued Anthropic, alleging the AI company infringed copyright. The case centers on claims that Anthropic used Presley’s lyrics without permission to train its AI models. The rights holders say the company used 274 songs to train Claude, Anthropic’s AI model. They also allege that the system generated versions of Presley’s songs that infringe on their rights. Presley, widely known as “The King,” is at the center of the dispute. The lawsuit argues that using the songs for AI training without authorization violated copyright protections. It also challenges the alleged creation of song versions based on Presley’s work. The claims have not been established in court.