Issue

AI Music Lawsuits

The labels' answer to generative music: UMG, Sony, and Warner v. Suno and Udio in U.S. federal court, the Lehrman v. Lovo voice-cloning class in S.D.N.Y., GEMA in Munich, KODA in Denmark, and a wave of artist-led suits.

The doctrine

Generative-music cases sit at the intersection of three doctrinal layers: the §114 sound-recording right, the §115 mechanical license for compositions, and a fast-emerging body of voice-rights and right-of-publicity law headlined by Tennessee's ELVIS Act (2024).

The U.S. labels' theory is straightforward: training a generative-music model on copyrighted recordings without a license infringes the §114 sound-recording right, and producing outputs that compete with those recordings is unfair competition. Suno and Udio argue fair use. The German parallel cases (GEMA) and Danish parallel cases (KODA) plead the same theory under their domestic statutes, with no fair-use safety valve.

Suno cases

UMG et al. v. Suno
D. Mass. · 1:24-cv-11611 · Pending

UMG, Sony, Warner, and other RIAA members sued Suno in June 2024 alleging mass infringement of sound recordings used to train Suno's generative model. The flagship U.S. AI-music case.

Justice v. Suno
D. Mass. · 1:25-cv-11739 · Active

Artist-led action against Suno tracking related claims to the label coalition complaint.

Woulard v. Suno
N.D. Ill. · 1:25-cv-12684 · Active

Putative class action by independent musicians.

GEMA v. Suno
LG München I · 42 O 489/25

German collective management organization GEMA sued Suno in the Munich Regional Court. Decision expected June 12, 2026.

KODA v. Suno AI
Denmark · Pending

Danish collective management organization KODA filed against Suno; specific court not yet publicly confirmed.

Udio cases

UMG v. Udio
SDNY · 1:24-cv-04777 · Partial settlement

The labels' Udio complaint, parallel to the Suno action. Reached a partial settlement that reshaped licensing for generative-music platforms.

Justice v. Udio (Uncharted Labs)
SDNY · 1:25-cv-05026 · Active

Artist-led action against Udio paralleling Justice v. Suno.

Woulard v. Udio (Uncharted Labs)
N.D. Ill. · 1:25-cv-12613 · Active

Putative class action by independent musicians.

Voice cloning — Lehrman v. Lovo

Lehrman v. Lovo
SDNY · 1:24-cv-03770-JPO · MTD granted in part

Voice-actor putative class action over alleged unauthorized voice cloning by AI voice platform Lovo. The court's motion-to-dismiss ruling kept right-of-publicity claims alive while narrowing copyright theories. The case is the leading U.S. voice-cloning matter.

See also our Deepfakes & Likeness page for the broader voice / right-of-publicity context.

International

  • Germany — GEMA v. Suno (LG München I, 42 O 489/25). Decision expected June 12, 2026.
  • Denmark — KODA v. Suno AI. Filed in Denmark; specific court not yet publicly confirmed.
  • India — IMI / T-Series / Saregama / Sony Music India v. OpenAI. Application to intervene in ANI v. OpenAI; the Delhi High Court directed the music plaintiffs to file separate proceedings.