In a significant legal move that highlights the ongoing disputes between artificial intelligence and intellectual property rights, the owners of Elvis Presley’s music have filed a lawsuit against AI company Anthropic. The suit, which was first reported by Billboard, alleges that Anthropic trained their AI models on 274 of Presley’s songs without obtaining the necessary permissions.
The Lawsuit and Its Claims
The lawsuit was filed by Authentic Brands Group, the entity that controls the licensing for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s music and likeness. It specifically points to a wide range of tracks, from iconic hits such as “All Shook Up,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and “Don’t Be Cruel” to lesser-known songs. The plaintiffs are seeking $150,000 in damages for each song they claim was infringed upon, amounting to approximately $41 million in total.
Concerns Over Copyright Infringement
Lead attorney Richard Busch emphasized the seriousness of the allegations, stating, “The Elvis Plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before. The Elvis Plaintiffs are deeply protective of these iconic songs.” This legal action stands as one of the first major instances of an artist’s estate taking legal steps against an AI company, although similar lawsuits have been filed by record labels and industry organizations like the RIAA against AI firms.
Implications of AI Training Practices
The lawsuit argues that Anthropic’s AI, known as Claude, has produced outputs that infringe on nearly every song catalog available on the internet. The plaintiffs allege that even after Anthropic implemented “guardrails” to prevent copyright violations, Claude continued to generate outputs that closely mirrored the original works. In one instance, the AI was reportedly able to recreate specific songs for a modern audience, effectively arguing that it strayed into reproducing copyrighted material rather than merely being inspired by it.
Historical Context and Legal Precedents
Busch, who has a history of representing high-profile music cases, including the Marvin Gaye estate’s landmark lawsuit against Robin Thicke and Pharrell over “Blurred Lines,” positions this legal challenge as vital in protecting the rights of artists. Like the Gaye case, the current lawsuit contends that Anthropic’s practices lead to the creation of “unlicensed derivative works” that violate copyright laws.
