Over the past few years, there has been a continuous debate regarding the rights of AI companies to use copyrighted materials. The most recent development has shifted the balance in favor of utilization: A judge has denied a preliminary request by Universal Music Group, ABKCO, and other music publishers to prevent Anthropic from using their lyrics to train its AI assistant, Claude, as Reuters reports.

US District Judge Eumi Lee ruled that the request submitted by UMG and its co-petitioners was overly broad and failed to demonstrate that Anthropic’s use of the lyrics had caused the companies “irreparable harm.” Judge Lee stated, “The publishers are essentially asking the court to establish the parameters of a licensing market for AI training, where the fundamental question of fair use remains unresolved.”

The case originated in 2023 when UMG, along with other music publishers, sued Anthropic for copyright infringement. They alleged that Anthropic had used and distributed copyrighted material, including at least 500 songs, without permission. At the time, UMG stated, “Anthropic’s copyright infringement is not innovation; in simple terms, it’s theft.”

In January of this year, the two parties reached a partial agreement. Anthropic confirmed that it would maintain existing safeguards to prevent reproducing, displaying, or distributing copyrighted material. Additionally, the company agreed to promptly respond to the music producers’ copyright concerns with a written statement outlining its plans to address these concerns or explain why it would not do so in individual cases.