Major music publishers, including Universal Music, ABKCO, and Concord, have intensified their legal battle against AI company Anthropic over copyright infringement claims. The publishers recently responded to Anthropic's opposition to their preliminary injunction motion.

Key Points of the Publishers' Response:

• They argue Anthropic's newly implemented "guardrails" are insufficient and inconsistent, potentially being circumventable or removed at will
• Publishers reject Anthropic's claim that they're responsible for the infringement by submitting test queries
• They challenge Anthropic's fair use defense for training AI models on copyrighted materials

Publishers' Main Concerns:

1. Continued Infringement:

• Claude continues to produce verbatim copies and unauthorized derivatives of protected lyrics
• The AI system creates unauthorized mashups and distortions of copyrighted works

2. Market Impact:

• Anthropic's use of lyrics is commercial rather than transformative
• The practice threatens existing licensing markets and partnerships
• Competes directly with legitimate platforms like Genius

3. Artistic Control:

• Publishers argue Anthropic's AI system undermines artistic intent
• Creates potentially offensive or error-filled outputs that publishers "would not license at any cost"

Requested Relief: The publishers seek to make Anthropic's current guardrails permanent during litigation and prevent the use of protected lyrics in future AI model training.

This case represents a significant battle in the ongoing tension between AI development and copyright protection in the creative industries, with potential widespread implications for AI training practices and content usage.

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