Judge Denies Music Publishers' Bid to Block Anthropic's Use of Song Lyrics

The ruling emphasizes the unsettled question of fair use in AI training and rejects claims of irreparable harm.

A California federal judge has rejected a preliminary injunction sought by Universal Music Group, Concord, and ABKCO against Anthropic for using copyrighted song lyrics in AI training.
The judge ruled that the publishers failed to demonstrate irreparable harm and that their request to block Anthropic's use of lyrics was overly broad.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, accuses Anthropic of using lyrics from over 500 songs without permission to train its AI chatbot, Claude.
Anthropic has agreed to maintain safeguards against reproducing copyrighted material and to address publishers' copyright concerns promptly.
The case highlights the broader legal debate over whether AI training on copyrighted material constitutes fair use under U.S. copyright law, a question that remains unresolved.