Sony and UMG File New Lawsuit Against Suno Over Copyright

Sony and Universal Music Group (UMG) have once again taken legal action against AI music generator Suno, filing a new lawsuit alleging continued copyright infringement. The major music labels claim that Suno's recently launched v6 model, despite being new, still violates their intellectual property rights. According to the complaint shared with The Verge, Sony and UMG assert that the v6 model was trained on user outputs generated by Suno's previous models. These earlier models, the labels contend, were themselves trained on vast amounts of unlicensed music "ripped" from platforms like YouTube and other sources. This practice forms the core of their accusation, which they've termed "model laundering." "Training a 'new' model on the outputs of an infringing model does not eliminate the infringement; it launders it, passing the value of Plaintiffs' expression from the copied reco…" the complaint states, highlighting their argument that the infringement persists even through subsequent model iterations. Sony and UMG are notable among major music industry players who have not entered into a licensing agreement with Suno, underscoring their firm stance against what they perceive as unauthorized use of copyrighted material for AI training. This latest lawsuit intensifies the ongoing legal battle between traditional music rights holders and emerging generative AI companies, setting a precedent for how intellectual property will be protected in the age of artificial intelligence.