Anthropic raises 20 affirmative defenses, including fair use, innocent infringement, copyright misuse, and due process violation for damages

Now that Judge Lee rejected Concord Music’s belated motion to amend the complaint (to include use of shadow libraries), Anthropic has filed its answer to the already filed first amended complaint.

No Bartz II. Judge Lee rejects Concord Music’s request to amend complaint to add Bartz-style piracy claim based on bittorrenting from shadow libraries

Anthropic includes most of the same defenses it raised in the Bartz case, including fair use and innocent infringement. But it has added 6 new defenses, while reserving the right to add more as the allegations in the case manifest.

The Copyright Misuse defense is interesting:

EIGHTH AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE
(Copyright Misuse/Unclean Hands)

Plaintiffs’ claims are barred, in whole or in part, by the doctrines of copyright misuse and unclean hands, including because Plaintiffs have attacked Claude in an effort to cause it to reproduce their works and have publicized their successful attacks, demonstrating to others how to attempt to cause Clause to regurgitate Plaintiffs’ works, and because they seek to prevent activities and uses that do not implicate rights protected by 17 U.S.C. § 106.
anthropic

Summary of Defenses: