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Judge Lets Music Publishers’ Copyright Lawsuit Against AI Firm Anthropic Move Forward

By  |  October 7, 2025

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that music publishers can continue pursuing parts of a copyright infringement lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Anthropic, which has been accused of misusing song lyrics to train its AI systems. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee declined Anthropic’s attempt to dismiss several claims brought by Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO.

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    The publishers allege that Anthropic’s AI chatbot, Claude, reproduced copyrighted lyrics without authorization, effectively enabling users to infringe on their intellectual property. The decision allows the case to move forward on claims that the company may have knowingly benefited from the unlicensed use of lyrics. Per Reuters, the ruling marks another significant development in a series of high-profile disputes between copyright owners and major tech companies over how artificial intelligence systems use protected material.

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    The lawsuit, filed in 2023, accuses Anthropic of infringing on the rights of at least 500 songs by artists including Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys. Judge Lee found that the music publishers had plausibly argued that Anthropic could have been aware of user infringement and profited from it. According to Reuters, the court had previously dismissed parts of the lawsuit but allowed the publishers to amend their claims, leading to Monday’s renewed decision.

    Related: Musixmatch Must Face Antitrust Claims Over Lyrics Deal, Court Rules

    Anthropic, backed by Amazon and Google, has faced growing legal scrutiny over its data training practices. In August, the company agreed to pay $1.5 billion to a group of authors to resolve a separate class action lawsuit over similar allegations. The broader legal battles across the tech industry now hinge on whether training AI systems on copyrighted works qualifies as “fair use” under U.S. law — a question that could reshape the boundaries between innovation and intellectual property rights.

    The case is Concord Music Group Inc v. Anthropic PBC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:24-cv-03811. Matt Oppenheim of Oppenheim + Zebrak represents the music publishers, while Anthropic is represented by Sy Damle of Latham & Watkins.

    Source: Reuters