Rights holders in songs recorded by Elvis Presley have filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, the company behind Claude, alleging unauthorized use of 274 compositions in artificial intelligence training. Filed on October 23, 2026, the complaint includes familiar titles such as Can't Help Falling in Love, Don't Be Cruel and All Shook Up. The allegations remain subject to examination and are not findings of liability.
Elvis Presley is at the center of a new dispute over the use of protected music in artificial intelligence. Companies, trusts and other rights holders have sued Anthropic, alleging that works associated with the singer were used without authorization in developing Claude. The complaint adds a highly recognizable catalog to an expanding legal debate over training material, licensing and the limits of copyright exceptions.
The lawsuit was filed on October 23, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. It concerns 274 musical compositions, a figure describing the works identified in this particular case rather than every recording in the singer's catalog. The plaintiffs' accusations begin a legal process in which the evidence and the company's defenses must be considered.
Among the works named are Can't Help Falling in Love, Don't Be Cruel, All Shook Up, Return to Sender, A Little Less Conversation and (You're the) Devil in Disguise. These are songs made famous by Elvis Presley, but the dispute should not be described as proof that Anthropic used his original audio recordings. Rights in a composition and rights in a particular recorded performance are distinct.
That distinction is central to understanding the allegations. A composition can have protected lyrics and music, while a separate right covers the recording through which an audience hears it. The complaint focuses on protected works and their use in developing a language-based AI system. Naming a song associated with a famous singer does not by itself establish that the corresponding master recording entered a training dataset.
The plaintiffs include ABG EPE IP LLC, part of Authentic Brands Group, alongside other entities and individuals holding or controlling relevant rights. The broader management of the Elvis Presley identity also involves his name, image and commercial legacy. Those activities do not mean that one organization automatically owns every right associated with every song he performed throughout his career.
Attorney Richard Busch is among the lawyers representing the rights holders. Their position is that Anthropic used protected creative material without the licenses required for that use. They also raise concerns about outputs that may reproduce protected material or create unauthorized variations. These remain allegations advanced by the plaintiffs, rather than conclusions established by the mere existence of the filing.
Anthropic develops Claude, an AI system that processes instructions and generates responses, particularly in written form. The dispute concerns the material used to develop such systems and the legal basis on which it can be included. It should not be confused with a claim that Claude is specifically a service for producing complete songs with instrumental accompaniment, melody and recorded vocals.
The broader legal debate often turns on fair use under US copyright law. Courts consider the circumstances of a particular use rather than treating every deployment of protected material in the same way. AI companies have argued in related disputes that training creates systems with functions different from those of the original works. Rights holders challenge that account and emphasize licensing markets and control over creative material.
For those managing songs associated with Elvis Presley, continuing commercial life is an important part of the context. Works first released decades ago still appear in films, television and advertising and remain available through music services. Their age and familiarity do not eliminate questions about permission. The lawsuit places another potential use of that material within an existing system of exploitation and licensing.
Several of the songs also illustrate how a recording can acquire new audiences over time. Can't Help Falling in Love became closely associated with the 1961 film Blue Hawaii. Don't Be Cruel and All Shook Up belong to the singer's extraordinary rise in the 1950s. A Little Less Conversation later found renewed commercial prominence through the JXL remix, long after its original release.
The new case involving Elvis Presley works is separate from other music-publisher litigation against Anthropic. Publishers first brought a prominent lyrics-related action in 2023, with further cases and additional rights holders following. Those proceedings involve different plaintiffs and collections of works. An argument or decision in one should not automatically be treated as a resolution of every allegation in another.
At the time of the original report, a response to this particular complaint had not been included. Anthropic subsequently disputed the claims and said it intended to defend the case. That response leaves the parties' positions opposed, without resolving the facts. The filing itself does not establish infringement across all 274 works, and the absence of an immediate comment would not establish responsibility either.
The Elvis Presley dispute ultimately concerns who can authorize particular uses of compositions and whether the uses alleged here require permission. For the rights holders, the issue is protecting works they administer. For Anthropic, it is part of a broader argument about the legal boundaries of AI development. The outcome depends on evidence and judicial examination, not on the familiarity of the songs or the force of either side's accusations.
