Elvis Presley Rights Holders Sue Anthropic for $48.6 Million
Authentic Brands Group and music publishers sued Anthropic for using 274 Elvis Presley songs to train the Claude AI model without permission.
Owners of Elvis Presley's music catalog, including Authentic Brands Group and publishers Raleigh Music Publishing and Abilene Music, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI developer Anthropic in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on October 23, 2026.
The plaintiffs allege that Anthropic used 274 of Presley's songs, including hits like "Can’t Help Falling in Love" and "All Shook Up," to train its Claude AI models without payment or permission. The suit claims the AI generates unlicensed derivative works that retain original song structures and hooks, and that Anthropic kept the material in an internal repository for future training.
While initial reports estimated the sought damages at $41.1 million, updated filings indicate the plaintiffs are seeking a total of $48.6 million, based on statutory damages of $150,000 per song. Lead attorney Richard Busch characterized the AI company's business model as being based on copyright infringement at an unprecedented scale.
Anthropic has denied the allegations and stated it intends to defend the case fully. The action marks one of the first major copyright challenges brought directly by an artist's estate against an AI developer.
