Elvis Presley Music Rights Holders File $48.6M Copyright Lawsuit Against Anthropic

A coalition of music industry stakeholders and companies that manage Elvis Presley’s musical catalog have filed a federal lawsuit accusing artificial intelligence company Anthropic of copyright infringement, alleging the tech firm placed potential multitrillion-dollar financial gains above respecting intellectual property rights of the legendary “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

The 28-page complaint, submitted Friday to the Northern District of California, names plaintiffs including Authentic Brands Group, Raleigh Music Publishing, and other entities representing Presley’s estate. The lawsuit specifically targets Anthropic’s AI model Claude, claiming it was trained using 274 of Presley’s songs without authorization, featuring classics such as “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Run On,” and “Farther Along.” The plaintiffs seek $48.6 million in damages and request that Anthropic cease its alleged infringing activities.

Lead plaintiff attorney Richard Busch directly challenges Anthropic’s public image as a socially responsible AI developer, pointing to the company’s ongoing legal battles over intellectual property violations. Busch argues that Anthropic’s lofty rhetoric about technological progress contradicts its actions, stating: “While in other cases for copyright infringement, Defendant has waxed poetic about the necessity of progress and AI’s value to society, there is simply no reason—other than rote expediency—to have that progress come at the cost of copyright holders.”

Busch further contends that Anthropic’s behavior conflicts with its reported plans for an initial public offering potentially valuing the company at $2 trillion. He argues that the unauthorized use of Presley’s music catalog served merely to enhance the company’s market valuation while diminishing the value of decades of creative work. “The Works were created over periods of dozens of years, and Anthropic, by its infringing conduct, is destroying the value of these Works in a matter of a few years with only profit as its motive,” Busch wrote in the filing.

Neither Busch nor Anthropic responded to requests for additional comment. Busch, a well-known attorney specializing in music rights litigation, previously represented Round Hill Music in a separate $1 billion lawsuit against Anthropic in August, alleging the company scraped hundreds of songs without permission for training purposes.

This latest legal challenge adds to a growing number of copyright disputes facing AI companies over their training methodologies. Anthropic previously settled a major lawsuit with a group of authors for $1.5 billion after they accused the company of misusing their published works to train its AI models. The Presley lawsuit reflects broader industry tensions as creators, writers, and artists increasingly pursue legal action against AI firms including Suno, Udio, and others over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted material.

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