Elvis Presley's estate sues Anthropic for $41 million over AI training

The dispute over artificial intelligence and copyright has now reached the catalog of a music icon who died nearly half a century ago. The rights holders to Elvis Presley's music have sued Anthropic and are seeking $41 million in damages.

According to the plaintiffs, the company trained its AI models on 274 Elvis songs without obtaining permission from the rights holders. The suit was filed on October 23. The size of the claim, tied to a single artist, shows how costly alleged music infringement could prove for AI companies.

Who is suing, and what do they allege?

The parties holding rights to the Elvis catalog include Authentic Brands Group, Raleigh Music Publishing, several foundation entities and at least one individual. The plaintiffs argue that Anthropic bypassed digital rights management (DRM) protections when accessing copyrighted works. DRM is the general term for technical measures designed to prevent unauthorized copying or use of digital content.

The complaint also alleges that the company removed or altered copyright management information, a claim it ties to 247 songs, a different figure from the 274 songs at issue in the suit overall. The works in question include some of Elvis's best-known tracks, such as Don't Be Cruel, Can't Help Falling in Love and A Little Less Conversation.

The lawyer's striking language in the complaint

Richard Busch, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, wrote in the filing that Anthropic built its entire business model on copyright infringement at an unprecedented scale. According to Busch, the Elvis catalog contains some of the most influential and enduring musical works in human history.

The complaint also notes that Elvis sold more than a billion records and that his works rank among the most valuable in the world.

A wave of music industry action against Anthropic

This is not the first music-related lawsuit Anthropic has faced. Sony and Warner have sued the company over what they describe as blatant infringement covering thousands of works. Earlier, Universal Music and Concord Music Group filed a similar suit, alleging that 20,000 copyrighted songs were illegally downloaded and used in training. Each of these cases seeks billions of dollars in damages. Other AI companies, including OpenAI, face multiple lawsuits of their own over training models on copyrighted music and other material.

What sets the Elvis case apart is its focus on a single artist's catalog, and on an artist who died decades before the AI era. Anthropic has previously argued that training models on copyrighted music falls under fair use, a legal doctrine that allows copyrighted works to be used without the rights holder's permission under certain conditions. In a brief statement on the matter, the company said it disagrees with the allegations and will defend the case vigorously.