AI Giant Anthropic Hit with Massive $3 Billion Piracy Lawsuit Over 20,000 Stolen Songs
A scathing lawsuit has been filed against AI company Anthropic, alleging that the firm engaged in "flagrant piracy" by downloading over 20,000 copyrighted songs without permission. The music publishers behind the suit, including Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group, claim that Anthropic's alleged actions could result in damages totaling more than $3 billion – making it one of the largest non-class action copyright cases in US history.
The lawsuit accuses Anthropic of using its vast network to illegally download iconic tunes from The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Elton John, and many others. These songs were then used for training purposes, specifically on the company's chatbot Claude. Music publishers handling artists like Common, Killer Mike, and Korn have also been implicated in the alleged piracy.
The lawsuit's authors claim that Anthropic's actions demonstrate a clear disregard for copyright law and that the firm has profited from "multibillion-dollar business empire" built on stolen content. This is not an isolated incident; music publishers point to previous findings during the discovery process of last year's Bartz v. Anthropic case, where similar piracy was uncovered.
The implications of this lawsuit are significant, particularly in light of a 2022 ruling that found it lawful for Anthropic to train its models on copyrighted content – but not for acquiring such content via piracy. The court's decision made a distinction between the cost of purchasing copyrighted materials and the value of the firm's overall network; essentially stating that spending $1 per song would have been sufficient, yet Anthropic chose to skirt around this rule by downloading content without permission.
The value of Anthropic itself is estimated at over $350 billion, but the consequences of its alleged actions are a different matter. The music publishers' lawsuit paints a picture of an AI giant built on the back of intellectual property theft, and it remains to be seen how this will play out in court.
A scathing lawsuit has been filed against AI company Anthropic, alleging that the firm engaged in "flagrant piracy" by downloading over 20,000 copyrighted songs without permission. The music publishers behind the suit, including Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group, claim that Anthropic's alleged actions could result in damages totaling more than $3 billion – making it one of the largest non-class action copyright cases in US history.
The lawsuit accuses Anthropic of using its vast network to illegally download iconic tunes from The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Elton John, and many others. These songs were then used for training purposes, specifically on the company's chatbot Claude. Music publishers handling artists like Common, Killer Mike, and Korn have also been implicated in the alleged piracy.
The lawsuit's authors claim that Anthropic's actions demonstrate a clear disregard for copyright law and that the firm has profited from "multibillion-dollar business empire" built on stolen content. This is not an isolated incident; music publishers point to previous findings during the discovery process of last year's Bartz v. Anthropic case, where similar piracy was uncovered.
The implications of this lawsuit are significant, particularly in light of a 2022 ruling that found it lawful for Anthropic to train its models on copyrighted content – but not for acquiring such content via piracy. The court's decision made a distinction between the cost of purchasing copyrighted materials and the value of the firm's overall network; essentially stating that spending $1 per song would have been sufficient, yet Anthropic chose to skirt around this rule by downloading content without permission.
The value of Anthropic itself is estimated at over $350 billion, but the consequences of its alleged actions are a different matter. The music publishers' lawsuit paints a picture of an AI giant built on the back of intellectual property theft, and it remains to be seen how this will play out in court.
This is just wild. I mean, $3 billion is a crazy amount, but think about all those songs that got stolen... it's like Anthropic was just taking a shortcut and not really caring about the rules 
. And now they're facing a massive lawsuit, which could be a major problem for their business 
. But at the same time, it raises some interesting questions - if companies can train on copyrighted content without permission, where does that line get drawn? It's like, is it okay to use someone's work as long as you're doing something good with it? 
I'm not sure what the answer is yet...
Oh my gosh, I'm like totally shocked! 
Anthropic's massive $3 billion lawsuit is just crazy talk 
. Those artists and music publishers deserve so much more than their work being used without permission 
. The fact that Anthropic has a huge network and still chooses to pirate content is just wild 
. It's like they're trying to get away with something 
.
. But this is just getting out of hand 
. The music publishers are right to take a stand and fight for what's rightfully theirs 
. It's going to be super interesting to see how this all plays out in court 
Or will they finally face the consequences of their actions? 
Whatever happens, I hope those artists get fair compensation for their work 
but at the same time, I feel bad for them because they're basically being held to a different standard than anyone else. if it was just $1 per song like the court said, why not just pay that instead of risking getting caught in this huge mess? 
.
. common and killer mike are all about that copyright law 
. i hope anthropic takes responsibility and pays up 
.
but seriously, $3 billion is a lot of clams... i mean, credits 
what's next? are we gonna see a whole new level of AI 'music' that's just a bunch of stolen beats? 
it's not just about the money; it's about accountability 
but come on 
... or should I say, a lot of copyrights 
. It's no wonder the AI giant has profited so much – they basically have an endless library 
think they're above the law 
anyway music industry needs to step up their game and protect artists' work 
- Aristotle. You can't just take one part (a song) without giving credit or permission, especially when it's used for a massive network like Anthropic's. It's all about the bigger picture and how these actions affect the overall value of the company. $3 billion is a huge number, but if they built their empire on stolen content, that's just not right 
.
The lawsuit might be about money, but it's also about values & what kind of tech ecosystem do we want to build 
. I mean, you can't just take someone else's music and use it to build your own empire. It's like copying someone else's homework in school - it's cheating! 
?