Sony Music and Warner Chappell have sued Anthropic for copyright infringement related to its AI model, demanding up to $150,000 per work.
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music have initiated a substantial legal action against Anthropic, alleging significant copyright violations in the development of its AI model, Claude. The music publishers are pursuing damages that could reach up to $150,000 for each work they claim was used without authorization.
Details of the Lawsuit
The complaint has been lodged in a federal court located in California. Along with Anthropic, CEO Dario Amodei and co-founder Benjamin Mann are named as defendants. The plaintiffs assert that Anthropic has systematically used copyrighted musical works, including renowned songs like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Livin' on a Prayer," and "Hallelujah," for training its AI.
In addition to music, the lawsuit alleges that Anthropic employed unauthorized copies of books and extracted lyrics from licensed services such as Musixmatch and LyricFind.
Potential Financial Impact
The publishers are calling for a jury trial and damages that could escalate to billions if a large number of infringements are confirmed. They are also demanding $25,000 for each instance of tampering with copyright information.
Characterizing Anthropic's actions as "one of the largest and most blatant ongoing thefts of intellectual property in history," the publishers are set on making a strong legal case.
"We do not agree with the publishers' claims and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in court," Anthropic's representative told TechCrunch.
Background on Copyright Conflicts
This lawsuit is part of ongoing disputes involving Anthropic and copyright holders. In a previous case from January 2026, Universal Music Group and other parties filed a $3 billion lawsuit over alleged infringements of over 20,000 musical works. Anthropic has also faced accusations regarding the use of pirated books for training purposes, leading to a $1.5 billion settlement in 2025. Recently, reports emerged that Amazon had destroyed rare books to avoid potential copyright issues in AI training.
