News & Insights
IP Attorney Randy McCarthy for IP Watchdog - Rights Holders of Elvis Compositions File Suit Against Anthropic Over AI Training and Lyrics Output
October 2026
IP Watchdog
Randy McCarthy of Hall Estill said that the complaint is both “ambitious and ambiguous.” He explained:
“It is ambitious in that the plaintiffs are attempting to build on the existing Anthropic litigation while advancing several distinct theories of liability relating to different stages of the process, including the acquisition and retention of copyrighted works and the alleged removal of copyright management information (CMI) from third party sources, including materials allegedly derived from YouTube transcripts.”
However, McCarthy said the complaint also contains “allegations that, in some instances, appear incomplete or have a questionable nexus to the elements of the asserted causes of action” and therefore may invite “targeted motions by Anthropic to dismiss particular theories of liability or, if the allegations are sufficiently unclear, to require a more definite statement.”
