Elvis Presley Estate Files Major Copyright Lawsuit Against Anthropic Over AI Training Data

The estate of Elvis Presley has filed a significant copyright infringement lawsuit against artificial intelligence company Anthropic, alleging unauthorized use of the late singer’s musical catalog in training its AI models.

According to a report by Billboard, Authentic Brands Group—the entity managing Elvis Presley’s music and likeness rights—initiated legal action on Friday. The complaint specifically claims that Anthropic, creators of the AI assistant Claude, incorporated 274 of Presley’s songs—including classics such as “All Shook Up,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and “Don’t Be Cruel”—into their machine learning datasets without obtaining proper licensing.

This lawsuit represents a notable development in the growing wave of legal challenges targeting AI firms for copyright violations. While major record labels like Universal Music Group and Warner Bros., along with industry associations such as the RIAA, have previously taken similar actions, this case marks one of the most high-profile interventions by an individual artist’s estate against an AI developer.

In a statement included in the filing, lead attorney Richard Busch emphasized the gravity of the allegations: “The Elvis Plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before. The Elvis Plaintiffs are deeply protective of these iconic songs.”

The lawsuit, formally titled ABE EPE LLC v. Anthropic, seeks statutory damages of $150,000 per infringed track, potentially amounting to approximately $41 million. Legal documents further allege that Claude has generated outputs closely resembling copyrighted works across multiple catalogs, even after implementation of new safeguards following prior litigation.

Busch, known for representing the Marvin Gaye estate in the landmark “Blurred Lines” case, argues that Anthropic’s practices constitute unauthorized creation of derivative works. The complaint includes examples where Claude reproduced structural elements and themes of Presley’s songs when prompted to reimagine them for contemporary audiences, reportedly acknowledging similarities that extend beyond mere inspiration to direct reproduction.

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