Sony Files New AI Copyright Lawsuit Against Udio, Seeks $4.5 Billion
Sony has initiated a new lawsuit against AI music company Udio, significantly expanding its existing copyright infringement claims. The action, filed on Monday (July 20), increases the number of sound recordings at issue from 333 to over 30,000 and raises Udio's potential damages exposure from $50 million to $4.5 billion. This move comes months after Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, who were originally part of the joint lawsuit, settled their disputes with Udio through licensing agreements. Sony remains the sole major music company still pursuing Udio in court over alleged unlicensed use of recordings for AI model training.
Sony has filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music company Udio, escalating its legal campaign. The lawsuit, initiated on Monday (July 20), broadens the scope of Sony’s claims against the artificial intelligence platform.
Initially, in 2024, Sony had joined Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) to sue Udio and rival AI company Suno. The joint lawsuit alleged that both AI companies committed copyright infringement on a substantial scale by training their models using unlicensed recordings.
However, UMG and WMG subsequently settled with Udio last fall, reaching licensing agreements. These deals require Udio to develop a new model based on pre-cleared training data and to contain all AI-generated music within a "walled garden" on its platform. WMG later settled with Suno as well. UMG and Sony continue their lawsuit against Suno, but Sony is the only major label still litigating against Udio.
The new lawsuit by Sony substantially increases the number of sound recordings cited in the case, from 333 to more than 30,000. This expansion leads to a significant increase in Udio’s potential damages exposure, which could now reach $4.5 billion, up from $50 million.
Sony stated that the original subset of songs was merely a "minuscule, illustrative fraction" of the recordings Udio had allegedly copied. The company claims it discovered the full extent of allegedly ripped Sony-owned recordings from YouTube, used in Udio's AI model, during the legal discovery process when it gained access to Udio’s training data.
Sony pursued a new lawsuit after a federal judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein, refused to allow them to amend the initial lawsuit. The judge agreed with Udio's argument that expanding the dataset two years into the process would "unduly delay the resolution of this action," though he acknowledged that a second lawsuit was an option for the plaintiffs.
Udio has consistently maintained that its training process falls under fair use, a principle in copyright law allowing unlicensed works for transformative purposes. Sony addresses the fair use debate in its new complaint, specifically regarding the "market harm" factor. Sony argues that Udio's existing licensing agreements with UMG, WMG, Kobalt, Merlin, Believe, and the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) demonstrate the existence of a market for these inputs, thereby challenging Udio's fair use defense. Sony also notes that it is not fundamentally opposed to emerging AI technology.
According to Billboard, Sony is showing no indication of relinquishing its legal fight against Udio.
