Individual Action
Concord Music v. Anthropic
Concord Music Group, Inc., ABKCO Music & Universal Music Publishing Group, et al. v. Anthropic PBC
Where it stands
Cross-motions for summary judgment were pending with amicus briefing on fair use as of July 2026; plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint in June 2026 withdrawing their secondary-infringement claims in light of the Supreme Court's Cox decision, and filed a follow-on 'Lyrics II' action (N.D. Cal. 5:26-cv-00880) in January 2026.
Key ruling
Jan. 2025 — the parties' stipulated guardrails agreement narrowed the publishers' preliminary-injunction motion, which the court then resolved without ordering the training-data injunction the publishers sought.
What is not confirmed
Contributory/vicarious counts were withdrawn in 2026, so the current live claim set is narrower than the original complaint; the exact disposition date of the preliminary-injunction motion was not re-verified in this pass.The record
- Court
- N.D. Cal. (transferred from M.D. Tenn.)
- Case number
- 5:24-cv-03811 (orig. M.D. Tenn. 3:23-cv-01092)
- Filed
- 2023-10-18
- Defendants
- Anthropic PBC
- Plaintiffs
- Music publishers (Concord, ABKCO, Universal Music Publishing) suing over roughly 500 song lyrics — corporate plaintiffs, not a class
- Technology at issue
- Claude
- Relief sought
- Statutory damages up to $150,000 per work and injunctive relief barring lyric reproduction
Claims pleaded
Sources (3)
- Concord Music Group v. Anthropic — Legal ExplainerKnowing Machines (Knowing Legal Machines) · 2025-11-21
- AI Infringement Case Updates: June 18, 2026McKool Smith · 2026-06-18
- AI Infringement Case Updates: July 13, 2026McKool Smith · 2026-07-13
This page describes a publicly filed case. This site is not counsel on this matter, nothing here is legal advice, and the allegations described are allegations unless a court has said otherwise.