Sony and Warner Sue Anthropic Over Alleged Piracy of Tens of Thousands of Songs

Key points

• Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, CEO Dario Amodei, and co-founder Benjamin Mann in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
• The complaint alleges Anthropic illegally torrented, scraped, and downloaded copyrighted musical compositions from pirate sites like Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror to train its Claude AI models.
• Plaintiffs claim Anthropic used 'tens of thousands' of copyrighted works, including songs by Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, and the Eagles, and are seeking statutory damages of up to $150,000 per composition.
• Anthropic denied the accusations, stating it disagrees with the publishers' claims and intends to defend itself robustly in court.
• The lawsuit references a June 2025 ruling that found Anthropic downloaded over 7 million pirated books, some of which contained copyrighted lyrics and sheet music.
• The publishers argue that training on this data allows Claude to generate identical or near-identical copies of copyrighted works, competing with human-made songs.

Background

This lawsuit is part of a broader trend of copyright litigation against AI companies. In July 2026, Sony Music Entertainment filed a separate lawsuit against AI music generator Udio over 30,000 songs, seeking up to $150,000 per infringing work. Additionally, Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group, and ABKCO Music have filed lawsuits against Anthropic, seeking over $3 billion in damages. The music industry has a history of litigious behavior regarding copyright, particularly in the era of Napster and LimeWire.

How outlets are covering it

Business Insider, Axios, and Mashable all report on the lawsuit filed by Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music against Anthropic. All three outlets agree on the core facts: the lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of California, names Anthropic, Dario Amodei, and Benjamin Mann as defendants, and alleges the use of pirated music to train Claude models. Business Insider and Mashable emphasize the specific songs allegedly pirated, such as 'Eye of the Tiger' and 'All I Want for Christmas is You,' and the $150,000 per song damages sought. Axios highlights the breadth of the lawsuit, noting it alleges infringement of 'tens of thousands' of compositions, compared to a narrower set in other lawsuits like BMG's claim of 493 compositions. Axios also notes the complexity of music copyright, which can expose AI companies to multiple lawsuits for the same song. All three outlets report Anthropic's denial of the allegations and its intention to defend itself in court. Mashable notes that the lawsuit is potentially multibillion-dollar, given the number of works alleged to be infringed.

Why it matters

This lawsuit could set a precedent for how AI companies are held accountable for using copyrighted material in training data. The potential for billions of dollars in damages, if the plaintiffs succeed, could have significant financial implications for Anthropic and the broader AI industry. It also highlights the ongoing tension between AI developers and content creators over the use of copyrighted material in AI training. The outcome of this case could influence future legislation and regulations regarding AI and copyright.

What to watch

Anthropic is expected to respond to the lawsuit in court, where it intends to defend itself against the allegations. The case will likely involve a detailed examination of the methods used by Anthropic to acquire training data and whether those methods constitute copyright infringement. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the AI industry and the music industry, potentially leading to changes in how AI companies source and use training data. Other music publishers may also file similar lawsuits against AI companies, leading to a broader wave of copyright litigation.