Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has secured an early victory in its copyright dispute with major music publishers, including Universal Music Group (UMG), Concord, and ABKCO, Reuters reports.
A California federal judge on Tuesday rejected the publishers’ request for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked Anthropic from using copyrighted song lyrics to train its AI chatbot, Claude.
US District Judge Eumi Lee ruled that the publishers failed to demonstrate that Anthropic’s actions caused them “irreparable harm.” The publishers had argued that Anthropic’s alleged unauthorized use of at least 500 song lyrics—from artists such as Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys—threatened the market for licensing lyrics.
However, Lee stated that the publishers were essentially asking the court to define the boundaries of AI licensing markets when the central issue of fair use remains unresolved.
Following the decision, a spokesperson for Anthropic said the company was pleased the court did not grant what it described as a “disruptive and amorphous request.” Meanwhile, the music publishers said they remain confident in their broader case against the AI firm.
The case is part of a wider legal debate over the use of copyrighted material to train AI models. Similar lawsuits have been filed by authors, news organizations, and visual artists against companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta.
Tech firms argue that their AI models make “fair use” of copyrighted works under US copyright law, meaning they study existing material to create new, transformative content rather than simply reproducing it. The fair use doctrine is expected to be a key factor in determining the outcome of these cases, though Lee’s ruling did not directly address it.
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