Anna's Archive copyright infringement lawsuit
A US federal judge ordered Anna's Archive to pay $322 million in damages to Spotify and three major music labels on May 1, 2026, following allegations that the platform scraped approximately 86 million songs from Spotify. As of May 1, 2026: Anna's Archive has been ordered to pay $300 million to Spotify, $7.5 million to Sony and Universal Music, and $7.2 million to Warner Music. This ruling comes after Anna's Archive continued to release scraped Spotify files and defied a preliminary injunction issued in January 2026 to cease distribution of copyrighted works. Thirteen US publishers also filed a separate lawsuit on March 9, 2026, against Anna's Archive for alleged willful copyright infringement, seeking permanent injunctive relief.
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May 2026 — 1 developments
A US federal judge has ordered Anna's Archive to pay $322 million in damages to Spotify and three major music labels.
A US federal judge has ordered Anna's Archive to pay $322 million in damages to Spotify and three major music labels. The damages include $300 million for Spotify, $7.5 million for Sony and Universal Music, and $7.2 million for Warner Music. This ruling follows allegations that Anna's Archive scraped approximately 86 million songs from Spotify.
April 2026 — 1 developments
Anna's Archive continues to release scraped Spotify files and has stated it does not intend to comply with a federal judge's order to delete data.
Anna's Archive continues to release scraped Spotify files and has stated it does not intend to comply with a federal judge's order to delete data. This defiance occurs despite a preliminary injunction issued in January 2026 ordering the platform to cease distribution of copyrighted works.
March 2026 — 2 developments
Spotify and major record labels are seeking a default judgment of $322.
Spotify and major record labels are seeking a default judgment of $322.2 million against Anna's Archive for failing to respond to a lawsuit filed in January 2026. The plaintiffs allege Anna's Archive scraped approximately 86 million music files and defied a court order by releasing millions of scraped music files.
Thirteen US publishers, represented by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), have filed a lawsuit against Anna's Archive for alleged willful copyright infringement.
Thirteen US publishers, represented by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), have filed a lawsuit against Anna's Archive for alleged willful copyright infringement. The publishers are seeking permanent injunctive relief and court orders against third-party registries and registrars. The lawsuit also claims Anna's Archive is used by tech companies to train AI models in exchange for cryptocurrency.
February 2026 — 2 developments
Anna's Archive has lost its .
Anna's Archive has lost its .PM domain name following international pressure exerted on intermediaries. This action comes in the wake of a significant lawsuit filed by Spotify and major record labels, who are seeking substantial damages from the platform.
Anna's Archive has started releasing millions of audio files scraped from Spotify, despite facing a $13 trillion lawsuit from the music streaming giant and major record labels.
Anna's Archive has started releasing millions of audio files scraped from Spotify, despite facing a $13 trillion lawsuit from the music streaming giant and major record labels. The site is accused of "brazen theft of millions of files containing nearly all of the world's commercial sound recordings." TorrentFreak reported that Anna's Archive's index lists dozens of new torrents containing approximately 2.8 million tracks totaling roughly 6 terabytes of audio data.
January 2026 — 17 developments
Legal efforts to enforce domain suspensions against Anna's Archive are encountering jurisdictional challenges, with not all foreign intermediaries complying with U.
Legal efforts to enforce domain suspensions against Anna's Archive are encountering jurisdictional challenges, with not all foreign intermediaries complying with U.S. court orders. Privacy-focused domain registrars are also not automatically adhering to the suspensions.
A court has found that Anna's Archive illegally reproduced and distributed copyrighted sound recordings, resulting in a worldwide injunction against the platform.
A court has found that Anna's Archive illegally reproduced and distributed copyrighted sound recordings, resulting in a worldwide injunction against the platform. Spotify and major record labels are seeking up to $13 trillion in damages.
Spotify is facing a lawsuit from major record labels alleging that the streaming platform allowed li…
Spotify is facing a lawsuit from major record labels alleging that the streaming platform allowed links directing users to Anna's Archive, a site known for unauthorized access to copyrighted material. The labels contend that Spotify facilitated access to infringing content by making these links accessible.
Spotify and major record labels are seeking $12.
Spotify and major record labels are seeking $12.9 trillion in statutory damages from Anna's Archive in their lawsuit.
Major record labels Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group, along w…
Major record labels Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group, along with Spotify, accused Anna's Archive of scraping 256 million audio track metadata and 86 million music files, representing 99.6% of Spotify's catalog. The lawsuit, which includes allegations of direct copyright infringement and breach of contract, also led to Public Interest Registry cutting services for Anna's Archive's .org domain without prior notification and the shutdown of its .se domain.
New details emerged regarding the lawsuit against Anna's Archive, revealing it was initially filed u…
New details emerged regarding the lawsuit against Anna's Archive, revealing it was initially filed under seal in December 2025 and led to a temporary restraining order compelling internet infrastructure providers, including Cloudflare, to cut off services. Anna's Archive failed to appear in court for the preliminary injunction, and the lawsuit alleges violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Anna's Archive claimed to have 'hacked' Spotify and scraped 86 million music files for 'preservation,' intending to release them in bulk torrents.
Anna's Archive claimed to have 'hacked' Spotify and scraped 86 million music files for 'preservation,' intending to release them in bulk torrents. The music industry's lawsuit alleges Anna's Archive unlawfully used Spotify's API to circumvent technical protection measures.
It has been clarified that Spotify, alongside major record labels, is a plaintiff suing Anna's Archi…
It has been clarified that Spotify, alongside major record labels, is a plaintiff suing Anna's Archive for unauthorized scraping and distribution of music files, correcting previous reports that Spotify was being sued by labels.
Anna's Archive is facing additional legal challenges, including a permanent injunction from a U.
Anna's Archive is facing additional legal challenges, including a permanent injunction from a U.S. federal court regarding the unauthorized use of WorldCat database content. This is separate from the ongoing lawsuit by Spotify and major record labels.
Anna's Archive was reportedly not notified of the lawsuit filed by Spotify and major record labels until its primary .
Anna's Archive was reportedly not notified of the lawsuit filed by Spotify and major record labels until its primary .org domain was taken down.
The .in domain of Anna's Archive was taken down with a serverHold status, leaving .li and .pm as the…
The .in domain of Anna's Archive was taken down with a serverHold status, leaving .li and .pm as the primary operational mirrors. Additionally, an amended lawsuit against Nvidia accused the company of attempting to pay Anna's Archive for high-speed access to its pirated book collection for LLM training.
Nvidia is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging it used millions of pirated books from Anna's Archive to train its AI models.
Nvidia is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging it used millions of pirated books from Anna's Archive to train its AI models. Internal documents suggest Nvidia contacted Anna's Archive to access its data, despite being informed the content was illegally acquired.
In a separate legal action, OCLC (maintainer of WorldCat) won a default judgment and permanent injun…
In a separate legal action, OCLC (maintainer of WorldCat) won a default judgment and permanent injunction against Anna's Archive in an Ohio federal court, ordering the shadow library to delete all scraped WorldCat data and cease its use and distribution.
A judge has ordered Anna's Archive to delete the scraped data.
A judge has ordered Anna's Archive to delete the scraped data. The lawsuit by Spotify and major record labels is viewed as a deliberate escalation, addressing mass scraping and DRM circumvention as an existential threat to streaming.
U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff issued a preliminary injunction, ordering Anna's Archive to cea…
U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff issued a preliminary injunction, ordering Anna's Archive to cease hosting, linking to, or distributing the copyrighted works, and also targeting third-party intermediaries like domain registries and hosting companies. The lawsuit was made public on this date.
The primary .
The primary .org domain of Anna's Archive was suspended by the Public Interest Registry. Anna's Archive confirmed the suspension on Reddit but stated that other domains were operational and new ones had been added.
The court granted a temporary restraining order against Anna's Archive as part of the lawsuit filed by Spotify and the record labels.
The court granted a temporary restraining order against Anna's Archive as part of the lawsuit filed by Spotify and the record labels.
December 2025 — 3 developments
Spotify confirmed it identified and disabled user accounts involved in the unlawful scraping activity by Anna's Archive.
Spotify confirmed it identified and disabled user accounts involved in the unlawful scraping activity by Anna's Archive. The company also implemented new safeguards to prevent future incidents.
Spotify, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group filed a lawsuit aga…
Spotify, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group filed a lawsuit against the unknown operators of Anna's Archive in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging mass copyright infringement, breach of contract, DMCA violations, and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act violations.
Spotify has responded to the scraping incident by disabling involved user accounts and implementing new safeguards.
Spotify has responded to the scraping incident by disabling involved user accounts and implementing new safeguards. Additionally, Google delisted approximately 749 million URLs associated with Anna's Archive following numerous takedown requests, and a court order from March 22, 2024, granted a motion to serve Anna's Archive by email.
November 2025 — 1 developments
Google has blocked approximately 749 million Anna's Archive URLs from its search results following numerous takedown requests from copyright holders.
Google has blocked approximately 749 million Anna's Archive URLs from its search results following numerous takedown requests from copyright holders. This action is part of ongoing efforts to combat 'shadow libraries' and AI scraping.