Music Industry Giants Unleash $3 Billion Lawsuit Against AI Firm Anthropic Over Alleged Flagrant Piracy
A coalition of music publishers, including prominent labels Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group, have filed a whopping $3 billion lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, alleging the firm engaged in "flagrant piracy" by illegally downloading over 20,000 copyrighted songs. The lawsuit, which could set a precedent for massive non-class action copyright cases in US history, claims that Anthropic used these illicitly obtained tracks to train its chatbot Claude, further fueling allegations of intellectual property theft.
The publishers point to several high-profile artists whose works were allegedly stolen, including iconic acts such as The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, and Elton John. Concord Music Group, an independent publisher representing notable artists like Common, Killer Mike, and Korn, stands to lose millions in royalties if Anthropic is found liable for these copyright infringement claims.
The lawsuit's stark assertion that Anthropic built its multibillion-dollar empire on the back of piracy raises eyebrows, as the firm has been touting itself as an "AI safety and research" company. This duplicity highlights a glaring contradiction between the company's stated mission and its illicit activities, which have allegedly left music publishers reeling.
The lawsuit echoes a previous case involving Anthropic, known as Bartz v. Anthropic, in which the firm was found liable for $1.5 billion in damages after it was discovered that they had been illegally downloading copyrighted works without permission. In this new suit, the music publishers claim that Anthropic's piratorial practices have continued unabated, even during the discovery process of the previous case.
As the stakes reach astronomical levels, it remains to be seen how this lawsuit will unfold and what implications it will have for the future of AI development in the music industry. One thing is clear: if Anthropic had simply obtained these copyrighted works through legitimate means, such as purchasing them or securing permission from copyright holders, its business model would likely look vastly different today.
A coalition of music publishers, including prominent labels Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group, have filed a whopping $3 billion lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, alleging the firm engaged in "flagrant piracy" by illegally downloading over 20,000 copyrighted songs. The lawsuit, which could set a precedent for massive non-class action copyright cases in US history, claims that Anthropic used these illicitly obtained tracks to train its chatbot Claude, further fueling allegations of intellectual property theft.
The publishers point to several high-profile artists whose works were allegedly stolen, including iconic acts such as The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, and Elton John. Concord Music Group, an independent publisher representing notable artists like Common, Killer Mike, and Korn, stands to lose millions in royalties if Anthropic is found liable for these copyright infringement claims.
The lawsuit's stark assertion that Anthropic built its multibillion-dollar empire on the back of piracy raises eyebrows, as the firm has been touting itself as an "AI safety and research" company. This duplicity highlights a glaring contradiction between the company's stated mission and its illicit activities, which have allegedly left music publishers reeling.
The lawsuit echoes a previous case involving Anthropic, known as Bartz v. Anthropic, in which the firm was found liable for $1.5 billion in damages after it was discovered that they had been illegally downloading copyrighted works without permission. In this new suit, the music publishers claim that Anthropic's piratorial practices have continued unabated, even during the discovery process of the previous case.
As the stakes reach astronomical levels, it remains to be seen how this lawsuit will unfold and what implications it will have for the future of AI development in the music industry. One thing is clear: if Anthropic had simply obtained these copyrighted works through legitimate means, such as purchasing them or securing permission from copyright holders, its business model would likely look vastly different today.
$3 BILLION lawsuit against AI firm Anthropic? Mind blown! 
I'm all for innovation and AI safety, but this is just crazy talk! 
How can a company supposedly build an empire on AI "safety" when they're allegedly stealing millions of dollars in copyrighted songs? 
It's like they're playing a game of musical chairs, except instead of chairs, it's artists' royalties that are up for grabs! 
Common's publisher is going to be ROBBED if Anthropic doesn't get what's coming to them. 
This lawsuit needs to be taken seriously and hopefully sets a precedent for protecting artists' rights in the digital age. 
No one wants to see another Bartz v. Anthropic case where AI firms are left with massive damages! 
! I mean, come on, $3 billion is crazy talk 
. I get it, copyright laws are in place to protect artists and creators, but shouldn't there be some way for companies like Anthropic to work within those laws instead of just ignoring them? 
The fact that they're even trying to pass themselves off as an "AI safety and research" company while allegedly engaging in piracy is just gross 
. I'm rooting for Anthropic on this one, no matter what happens 
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Anthropic's whole thing with Claude sounds sketchy too... how did they even manage to get away with it for so long? 
. I mean, come on, 20k songs is a lot, but so what? It's not like Anthropic was actively seeking out these tracks or anything 
Like, have you seen the contracts that major labels are signing these days? They're basically giving their artists a pittance compared to what they could be making. So, if Anthropic is getting an unfair advantage by just having access to so many songs, maybe the real problem is with the music industry itself 
. Just use AI or whatever to generate new content if you can't afford the originals 
. But noooo, they're gonna keep fighting like it's the 90s 
. Gonna cost 'em billions too 
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and now they're going after anthropic for allegedly flagrant piracy? 
what's next, suing google for using copyrighted images without permission? 
and not paying a dime 
2010: $40 billion
but how does Anthropic just casually download 20k+ songs without permission? 
That's a massive copyright infringement problem on their end. As for the $1.5 billion they already got hit with... that's on top of what other labels have lost to these alleged pirates? 
And what's with Anthropic's duplicitousness? They're all like "we're an AI safety and research company" while secretly training their chatbots on pirated tracks. It's like they're trying to have it both ways. I get that the music industry can be tough, but come on – there are laws in place for a reason.
like they're trying to pull a fast one and get away with it...but nope not this time 
this is huge news, i'm def keeping an eye on how this lawsuit unfolds 
. $3 billion is a wild claim for 20k songs that were allegedly downloaded without permission 
Are there any other parties involved in this shady deal? 
The whole thing reeks of a big ol' PR mess 
. If Anthropic's "AI safety and research" claims are legit, why haven't they been more forthcoming about their music sourcing process? 
?
and now we gotta wonder how many more artists are gonna get screwed over. what's the music industry even gonna do about this?! 
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those music publishers are gonna get paid big time if they win 
.