Issue No. 068 · Story 01 · October 24, 2026

Eminem's Former Employee Strange Pleads Guilty to Copyright Charge

Eminem's former employee Joseph Strange pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement on October 22 in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan. The Justice Department says he copied and sold unreleased music for about $50,000 without authorization. The court has not decided whether to accept the plea agreement, and no sentence has been imposed.

§The August 28 information, a charging document, alleges willful reproduction and distribution of 10 or more copies within 180 days for commercial advantage and private financial gain.
§The Justice Department says the files reached public streaming platforms and had been accessed more than eight million times as of November 2025.
§Sentencing is set for January 27, 2027, and the maximum is five years in prison.

THE TAKEAWAY

Strange has entered a guilty plea, with the plea agreement still awaiting court acceptance. Criminal copyright infringement requires proof of willfulness and commercial advantage or private financial gain and can carry prison time, while civil actions seek damages or an injunction.

Filing: ESCA Filings

Same issue

Apple Keeps Servant Jury Verdict

Apple and the other defendants prevailed on October 22 at the Ninth Circuit in Francesca Gregorini's copyright appeal over Servant. Gregorini alleged the show's first three episodes were substantially similar to her film The Truth About Emanuel. The panel affirmed the jury's verdict for the defendants.

Reservoir Sues Anthropic Over Song Lyrics

Reservoir Media Management and two other music publishers sued Anthropic on October 21 in federal court in the Northern District of California. They allege Anthropic copied the lyrics of 853 compositions to train its AI model without a license or payment. Anthropic has not responded in court, and no court has decided the claims.

USPTO Refuses Anthropic's CLAUDE MYTHOS Registration for Now

The USPTO issued a nonfinal refusal of Anthropic's application to register CLAUDE MYTHOS for AI software services on October 20. The examiner found a likelihood of confusion with a MYTHOS registration for software services involving searchable databases and customizable surveys. Anthropic has three months to respond.

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