On January 2, 2025, Anthropic announced a new agreement aimed at ensuring proper protections when training future AI models, specifically regarding copyright issues related to song lyrics. This comes after a legal action initiated in October 2023 by major music labels, including Universal Music Group and ABKCO, which accused Anthropic of using lyrics from over 500 songs without permission.
The lawsuit claimed that Anthropic knowingly altered or removed copyright management information while training its AI model. Under the new agreement, the parties involved are committed to collaborating in good faith to prevent similar incidents in the future.
In response to the allegations, Anthropic defended its practices, stating that its AI model, Claude, is designed not to infringe on copyrights and is equipped with various processes to avoid such violations. The company indicated that this agreement with music publishers reflects its commitment to copyright compliance.
This case is part of a broader trend where AI technologies face scrutiny over copyright issues, with other notable cases involving major players like Google and OpenAI.