Concord Music Group, Inc. v. Anthropic PBC

Leading publishers including Concord, Universal Music, and ABKCO filed an action on 18 October 2023 alleging that Anthropic, developer of the Claude AI models, engaged in the large-scale copying and reproduction of copyrighted song lyrics without authorisation.

The complaint claims Anthropic’s models can reproduce identical or near-identical lyrics to hundreds of protected songs and that users can access these outputs through Claude’s interface and API. Plaintiffs further allege that Anthropic’s practices devalue songwriters’ work, divert users from licensed lyric platforms, and undermine legitimate licensing markets. The lawsuit asserts direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement, as well as removal of copyright management information.

The publishers seek injunctive relief, disclosure of training data and methods, destruction of infringing copies, statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work, and compensation for Anthropic’s alleged wilful and ongoing infringement.

This summary is provided for educational and research purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Allegations described are those made in the filings. Please consult the underlying source documents.