# Elvis estate sues Anthropic, adding to Claude's copyright bill

> Elvis Presley rights holders sued Anthropic over alleged unauthorised training of Claude on 274 songs.

*Presley rights holders seek more than $41 million, opening a new front for Anthropic as music publishers press separate claims.*

By Bez · InsidersFeed
Canonical: https://insidersfeed.com/news/elvis-estate-sues-anthropic-adding-to-claude-s-copyright-bill

Anthropic now faces another music rights claim, and this one carries a famous name. Owners of Elvis Presley's song catalogue are seeking more than $41 million, arguing the company built Claude on songs it had no licence to use.

According to The New York Times, as summarised in a [newsletter roundup](https://nkrish101.substack.com/p/roundup-openai-discounts-pull-coders), the suit was filed on Friday, 23 October, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiffs include Authentic Brands Group, Raleigh Music Publishing, several trusts and at least one individual.

The complaint alleges Anthropic trained its models on 274 Presley songs without permission. It also alleges the company circumvented protection measures and removed copyright management information. The plaintiffs want a jury trial and damages of more than $41 million, which works out at $150,000 per song.

Anthropic said it "disagrees and will defend itself." That wording is relayed by the roundup rather than taken verbatim from the Times, so treat it as a paraphrase of the company's position.

The case follows earlier litigation from music publishers including Universal Music Group and Concord, who sued Anthropic over alleged use of pirated libraries. Potential damages in that dispute reach up to $3 billion. The details of the Presley filing have not been verified against the original Times report or the complaint itself.

## The Insider view

The sum is small beside the $3 billion exposure in the publishers' case, but the structure matters. A per-song figure of $150,000 turns every title in a training set into a line item, and the claimants name 274 of them. Add the allegations about circumvention and stripped copyright information, and the plaintiffs are building claims that do not rest on training alone.

Anthropic is exposed on volume more than on this one case. Each new catalogue owner that files on the same template adds a claim, and a recognisable estate gives the argument a public face. What to watch: whether the court treats the circumvention allegations as separate from the training question, and whether other rights holders copy the per-song pricing. Verify the filing before relying on any of the detail here.

## Key takeaways

- Presley rights holders seek more than $41 million, or $150,000 per song, from Anthropic.
- The suit adds a new claimant to music-industry litigation against Anthropic.
- Anthropic said it disagrees and will defend itself; the filing details remain unverified.

## Sources

- [Roundup: OpenAI discounts pull coders off Claude, Elvis estate sues Anthropic for $41M (summarizing The New York Times, Oct 25)](https://nkrish101.substack.com/p/roundup-openai-discounts-pull-coders) — nkrish101 Substack, 2026-10-25