Anthropic Settles Copyright Dispute with Music Publishers

Anthropic has reached an interim agreement with major music publishers, including Universal Music Group and Concord Music Group, to address copyright infringement allegations regarding the use of song lyrics in training its AI chatbot, Claude. The U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee approved the deal, requiring Anthropic to maintain existing safeguards that prevent its AI from generating copyrighted lyrics or creating new ones based on them. The lawsuit, initiated in October 2023, claimed that Claude reproduced lyrics from over 500 songs without authorization. Anthropic asserts that its AI is not designed for copyright infringement and that it has processes in place to avoid such issues, aiming to align with existing copyright laws. The agreement allows publishers to intervene if they believe the safeguards are ineffective, marking a significant moment in the evolving landscape of AI and intellectual property rights. This case is notable as it represents the first instance of a music publisher suing an AI company over the incorporation of song lyrics in a language model.