Anthropic is being sued by the rights holders of Elvis Presley's music catalog, Authentic Brands Group, for allegedly using copyrighted songs to train its Claude large language model (LLM). The lawsuit claims Claude scooped up approximately 274 copyrighted Presley songs to generate AI-generated content.
Key points
- Anthropic sued for alleged use of 274 Elvis Presley songs.
- Claude LLM accused of creating infringing song outputs.
- Lawsuit seeks $150,000 per infringed Elvis song.
- AI's use of copyrighted material faces new legal scrutiny.
According to the filing, Claude has created infringing output of copyrighted material from virtually every song available on the internet, including the Elvis Presley works. Even after Anthropic implemented 'guardrails,' the lawsuit alleges that Claude continues to infringe.
When recently asked to recreate specific songs for a modern audience, Claude reportedly admitted that its renders were very close to the originals, featuring the same structure, reused hooks with slight rewording, and full sets of verses, choruses, and bridges.
By the numbers
- Elvis Presley songs allegedly used
- 274
- Claimed value per infringed song
- $150,000
- Total claimed damages
- $41.5 million
Authentic Brands Group is seeking $150,000 per infringed Elvis song, totaling around $41.5 million. This lawsuit highlights the growing legal challenges surrounding AI's habit of scraping copyrighted material for training purposes.
Sources and references
Original report
Anthropic sued for allegedly stealing from The King
The A.V. Club
Read on The A.V. Club (opens in a new tab)Linked in the original report
- Linktheatlantic.com/technology/2026/10/ai-hacking-apocalyps… (opens in a new tab)
- Linkpbs.org/newshour/science/ai-agents-are-hacking-… (opens in a new tab)
- Linkrollingstone.com/music/music-news/elvis-presley-rightsho… (opens in a new tab)
- Linkhollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/elvis-presleys-rights… (opens in a new tab)
- Linkbillboard.com/pro/ai-firms-steal-music-scrape-copyrig… (opens in a new tab)
Ref 00UNTENW
Cite this
APA
Interestana AI Editorial. (2026, October 25). Anthropic Sued Over Alleged Elvis Song Copyright Infringement. Interestana. https://interestana.com/articles/anthropic-sued-for-allegedly-stealing-from-the-king-00untenw
MLA
“Anthropic Sued Over Alleged Elvis Song Copyright Infringement.” Interestana, 25 Oct. 2026, interestana.com/articles/anthropic-sued-for-allegedly-stealing-from-the-king-00untenw.
Chicago
Interestana AI Editorial. “Anthropic Sued Over Alleged Elvis Song Copyright Infringement.” Interestana, October 25, 2026. https://interestana.com/articles/anthropic-sued-for-allegedly-stealing-from-the-king-00untenw.
BibTeX
@misc{interestana_00untenw,
author = {{Interestana AI Editorial}},
title = {{Anthropic Sued Over Alleged Elvis Song Copyright Infringement}},
howpublished = {Interestana},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
url = {https://interestana.com/articles/anthropic-sued-for-allegedly-stealing-from-the-king-00untenw},
note = {Summary of reporting by The A.V. Club, https://www.avclub.com/anthropic-sued-copyright-infringement-elvis}
}Credit the source
Original reporting: The A.V. Club, “Anthropic sued for allegedly stealing from The King”, https://www.avclub.com/anthropic-sued-copyright-infringement-elvis(opens in a new tab)
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