Elvis Presley’s music is at the centre of a new dispute over artificial intelligence and copyright. On October 23, 2026, companies holding rights in the singer’s repertoire filed a US federal lawsuit against AI developer Anthropic.
Event date: October 23, 2026 (filing) · October 25–26 (reports) · Oldies Radyo | Music News
A claim involving 274 copyrighted songs
The complaint alleges that Anthropic used 274 copyrighted works from the Presley repertoire without authorization in training its Claude AI model. Songs mentioned in coverage include Can’t Help Falling in Love and Don’t Be Cruel. These are allegations made by the plaintiffs, not findings that a court has established infringement.
$41.1 million in statutory copyright damages; more than $48.6 million across claims
The plaintiffs seek up to $150,000 per work for 274 compositions, a statutory copyright damages claim of $41.1 million. Music Business Worldwide’s examination of the complaint identifies two additional claims involving technological protections and copyright management information, bringing the pleaded figures to more than $48.6 million. These are amounts requested by plaintiffs, not court-awarded damages. Anthropic disputes the allegations and says it intends to defend the case.
A legacy catalogue meets a new technological question
Presley’s recordings remain part of global music culture, but questions around the use of copyrighted works to train AI systems now extend to this famous catalogue. The broader debate concerns licensing, rights holders’ consent and the legal boundaries of training. Nothing in the cited reports establishes the final outcome of this lawsuit.
From Oldies Radyo
From Hound Dog to Can’t Help Falling in Love, Elvis Presley’s music still connects generations. In reporting on the legal future of that legacy, it is essential to distinguish between claims in a complaint and a court’s ultimate decision.
Archive photograph: Elvis Presley, 1956 publicity portrait. Wikimedia Commons / public domain, reused from the existing Oldies Radyo media library. This image does not depict the 2026 court case.