“Publishers embrace innovation and recognise the great promise of AI when used ethically and responsibly. But Anthropic violates these principles on a systematic and widespread basis.” – Universal, in its lawsuit.

Universal Music (AMS: UMG), along with two other major music companies, has initiated a copyright infringement lawsuit against Anthropic, an AI startup. The complaint revolves around Anthropic allegedly scraping copyrighted songs without permission and using them to create lyrics that are almost identical to the original content. This action is primarily related to Anthropic’s AI model known as Claude, which competes with ChatGPT.

When asked for lyrics from songs like “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, Claude generates lyrics that closely resemble the originals. The music companies argue that such copyrighted material isn’t free to use, emphasizing that Anthropic has never sought proper licensing for their copyrighted work. As of now, Anthropic has not responded to these allegations. (FT)

This lawsuit reflects a broader challenge faced by the music industry, with the emergence of AI technology capable of producing “deepfake” songs imitating established musicians’ voices and style. Anthropic, a prominent AI startup backed by Amazon and Google, is at the center of this dispute.

The concern over AI’s impact on music copyright is reminiscent of the industry’s battles with technology in the 2000s, exemplified by Napster and music piracy. In response to these challenges, Universal has announced ethical partnerships with platforms like BandLab and Google to ensure proper licensing and permissions for AI-generated music.

The lawsuit underscores the ongoing struggle between innovation and copyright protection in the music industry, and it reflects the industry’s commitment to ensuring that AI technology is used responsibly and ethically. Universal has also taken steps to restrict access to its music catalog for developers using it to train AI technology, demonstrating its commitment to protecting their artists’ work.

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Image (Gloria Gaynor/I will survive) Credit: Flickr