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Universal Music Group was dealt a legal setback today as a judge declined to issue an injunction to block AI co*pany Anthropic PBC from using copyrighted lyrics to train its models. The decision, issued yesterday, doesn’t necessarily give Anthropic free reign, nor does it say it will always be allowed, but rather declares that whether this use is illegal is an “open question,” according to Billboard‘s reporting. 

“Publishers are essentially asking the court to define the contours of a licensing market for AI training where the threshold question of fair use remains unsettled,” wrote judge Eumi K. Lee in the decision. “The court declines to award publishers the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction based on legal rights … that have not yet been established.” Though the judge denied UMG’s injunction, a case will still move forward (though Billboard notes Anthropic is likely to try to get it dismissed following this ruling). 

UMG initially sued Anthropic in 2023, accusing the co*pany of violating copyrights to its works to train its Claude AI model; Anthropic argued that this fell under “fair use.” Though that question is still unsettled, Judge Lee ruled that whatever harm the co*pany may be causing UMG is not “irreversible,” and could be eventually mitigated financially if there is in fact damage. “As the case continues, we look forward to explaining why use of copyrighted material for training large language models aligns with fair use principles under copyright law,” a representative for Anthropic told Billboard in a statement. 

It should be noted that UMG is not co*pletely against AI, but just against this one co*pany using its assets without paying them. Last October, the music co*pany partnered with “ethical A.I. music co*pany” KLAY, working together on a “pioneering co*mercial ethical foundational model for AI generated music that works in collaboration with the music industry and its creators.” That co*pany’s product purportedly “will not co*pete with artists’ catalogs in traditional music services,” though it’s hard to believe that using AI music won’t replace some working musician somewhere.