Copyright case · United States (federal)
Music publishers sue Anthropic over alleged use of copyrighted compositions in Claude
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music v. Anthropic
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music sued Anthropic and co-founders Dario Amodei and Benjamin Mann, alleging copyright infringement involving musical compositions used to develop and operate Claude. The publishers seek statutory damages, destruction of allegedly infringing copies, and an accounting of Anthropic’s training data and methods. The complaint has been filed, but its allegations have not been proven in court.
- Filed
- Filed
Updated
Parties and court
- Plaintiffs
- Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music
- Defendants
- Anthropic, Dario Amodei, Benjamin Mann
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Jurisdiction
- United States (federal)
What’s at stake
- Claims of direct and contributory copyright infringement involving alleged torrenting and use of musical compositions.
- Requested statutory damages of up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement.
- Requested damages of up to $25,000 for each alleged removal or alteration of copyright-management information.
- Requested destruction of allegedly infringing copies.
- Requested accounting of Anthropic’s training data and methods.
Timeline
Sony Music Publishing and Warner Chappell Music reportedly filed a copyright lawsuit against Anthropic and its co-founders, seeking a jury trial, statutory damages, destruction of allegedly infringing copies, and an accounting of training data and methods.
Our reporting
Sony Music and Warner Chappell Sue Anthropic Over Claude Copyright Claims →The Signal · August 30, 2026