Music company BMG Rights Management has filed a federal lawsuit in California against AI startup Anthropic, accusing it of using copyrighted song lyrics to train its Claude chatbot.
The complaint cites 493 specific copyrights, including works by the Rolling Stones, Bruno Mars, and Ariana Grande. BMG, a subsidiary of German media giant Bertelsmann, claims Anthropic reproduced these lyrics without permission during AI model training.
This case follows a broader wave of litigation from authors, publishers, and music rights holders challenging the use of copyrighted material in AI training datasets. Competitor Universal Music Group previously sued Anthropic in 2023 over similar allegations.
Anthropic recently settled a separate $1.5 billion class-action lawsuit with authors over AI training practices. The company has not commented on BMG’s claims.
Under U.S. copyright law, willful infringement can result in penalties up to $150,000 per work.