music copyright News

AI Company Anthropic Wins Early Round in Music Publishers’ Copyright Case

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic convinced a California federal judge on Tuesday to reject a preliminary bid to block it from using lyrics owned by Universal Music Group and other music publishers to train its AI-powered chatbot Claude. U.S. District Judge …

Ed Sheeran Beats Copyright Appeal Over ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Song

Ed Sheeran, his record label Warner Music WMG.O and music publisher Sony Music Publishing 6758.T persuaded a U.S. appeals court on Friday to uphold a decision that his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” did not illegally copy Marvin Gaye’s 1973 …

Singer-Songwriter Ed Sheeran: Other Artists Are Cheering on Copyright Fight

Ed Sheeran said Monday he’s getting encouragement during his copyright trial from other performers who also worry that they’ll be sued as he battles claims that he stole material from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” to make a new …

New England Patriots Owner Alleges Insurer Fumbled Media Liability Claims

Kraft Sports and Entertainment, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, has sued Hiscox Insurance alleging the insurer has failed to respond under media liability insurance policies to multiple claims of copyright infringement brought against the sports company. Kraft Sports, …

Taylor Swift Says She Couldn’t Plagiarize a Song She Never Heard

Taylor Swift says she couldn’t have ripped off the lyrics to her hit “Shake It Off” from a song she’d never heard before. Swift defended herself as the sole songwriter of the 2014 song in a sworn declaration filed Monday, …

Led Zeppelin Back on Top in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Lyrics Copyright Case

A federal appeals court has restored a jury verdict that found Led Zeppelin did not steal “Stairway to Heaven.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco handed the major win to guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert …

Judge Quashes Peloton’s Countersuit in Music Copyright Case

Peloton Interactive Inc.’s attempt to fire back at music publishers who sued the exercise bike maker for copyright infringement was quashed by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Wednesday dismissed Peloton’s countersuit, which alleged that a trade …

Court Orders Replay of Song Copyright Case Against Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift won’t escape so easily after all from allegations that her 2014 hit “Shake It Off” illegally copied the lyrics of “Playas Gon’ Play.” The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday overturned a judge’s ruling throwing …

Music Copyright Law in Search of New Standard for Infringement

Willie Nelson has famously said a country song is “three chords and the truth.” It might not be so simple anymore. A flood of lawsuits is threatening to upend that concept, making trivial similarities in songs the basis for a …

1970s Musicians Sue for ‘Second Chance’ to Reclaim Their Songs

David Johansen, John Waite and other prominent 1970s musicians filed lawsuits on Tuesday accusing Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and UMG Recordings Inc. of improperly refusing to let them reclaim rights to songs they had long ago signed away. The proposed …