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Suno<\/strong> and Udio<\/strong> have a new adversary in their copyright fight with independent musicians: Hagens Berman<\/strong>, the law firm that took on the tobacco industry.<\/p>\n The firm has joined forces with Delgado Entertainment Law<\/strong> to represent independent artists whose recordings were allegedly copied without permission to train the two companies\u2019 AI music-generation models.<\/p>\n Hagens Berman<\/strong> announced the move on Monday (June 22), the same day it filed an amended complaint against Udio<\/strong> in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The firm\u2019s arrival raises the stakes for Suno<\/strong> and Udio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Hagens Berman<\/strong> represented 13 US states in what it describes as the largest recovery in litigation history, a settlement with the tobacco industry that the firm values at $260 billion<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Co-founder Steve Berman<\/strong> served as special assistant attorney general for those states in State of Washington, et al. v. Philip Morris, et al.<\/em>, the case behind that recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cIndependent artists and producers represent the heart and soul of the music industry, and in the landscape of AI, they stand to lose the most,\u201d said Berman<\/strong>, the firm\u2019s managing partner.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that Udio<\/strong> and Suno<\/strong> have blatantly stolen works from millions of independent artists and have violated the terms of online platforms in order to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Berman, Hagens Berman<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Berman added: \u201cWe believe that Udio<\/strong> and Suno<\/strong> have blatantly stolen works from millions of independent artists and have violated the terms of online platforms in order to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n The complaint alleges that Udio<\/strong>\u2018s conduct was \u201cnot only unlawful, but an unconscionable attack on the music community\u2019s most vulnerable and valuable creators.\u201d<\/p>\n The case Hagens Berman<\/strong> has joined was first filed in June 2025<\/strong> by country musician Tony Justice<\/strong> and his label, 5th Wheel Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Justice<\/strong>, a full-time truck driver whose song Last of the Cowboys<\/em> has been streamed more than 8 million<\/strong> times on music platforms such as Spotify<\/a>, sued both companies<\/a> in June last year, in separate complaints against Suno<\/strong> in Massachusetts and Udio<\/strong> in New York.<\/p>\n That lawsuit argued that \u201crather than simply license these copyrighted songs like every other tech-based business does, Suno<\/strong>\/Udio<\/strong> elected to simply steal the songs and generate AI-soundalike music at virtually no cost.\u201d<\/p>\n The suits now name Anthony Justice<\/strong>, 5th Wheel Records<\/strong> and My<\/strong> Heartland Publishing<\/strong> as plaintiffs, on behalf of independent artists who released music on streaming services since 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The complaints claim that Suno<\/strong> and Udio<\/strong> circumvented the technological measures used by YouTube<\/a><\/strong>, Spotify<\/strong> and other distributors to copy \u201ctens of millions\u201d of recordings, the majority of them owned by independent artists.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs allege Suno<\/strong> and Udio<\/strong> then repackaged those works into AI-generated songs that compete in the same marketplace as the originals.<\/p>\n On May 21<\/strong>, the federal court hearing the Udio<\/strong> case denied in part the company\u2019s motion to dismiss, upholding claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act<\/strong>.<\/p>\n A separate federal court has yet to rule on Suno<\/strong>\u2018s motion to dismiss the case against it.<\/p>\n The DMCA<\/strong> claims center on \u201cstream-ripping,\u201d a method of downloading audio that the major labels suing the AI firms have also alleged.<\/p>\n When the three majors expanded their own case in September 2025<\/strong> to allege stream-ripping, Suno<\/strong> asked the court to dismiss the claim.<\/p>\n Suno<\/strong> did not deny stream-ripping music from YouTube<\/strong>, but its lawyers argued the practice is not illegal under the DMCA<\/a>.<\/p>\n The labels responded that \u201cthe violation lies in the circumvention, not the reason for it,\u201d in a brief filed in October 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking alongside a firm with the experience and track record of Hagens Berman<\/strong> strengthens our ability to pursue these claims and advocate for independent artists at scale,\u201d said Krystle Delgado<\/strong>, founder of Delgado Entertainment Law<\/strong> and lead attorney on the class actions.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking alongside a firm with the experience and track record of Hagens Berman<\/strong> strengthens our ability to pursue these claims and advocate for independent artists at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n Krystle Delgado<\/strong>, Delgado Entertainment Law<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A second group of independent artists, led by songwriter David Woulard<\/strong>, filed its own class actions against Udio<\/strong> and Suno<\/strong> in October 2025<\/strong> in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Brought by law firm Loevy & Loevy<\/strong>, the Woulard<\/strong> complaints allege copyright infringement and stream-ripping, alongside claims under Illinois<\/strong>\u2018 Biometric Information Privacy Act<\/strong> and Right of Publicity Act<\/strong> over the alleged use of artists\u2019 voiceprints and identities.<\/p>\n The independent-artist cases follow the litigation brought by the major labels, which sued Suno and Udio in June 2024<\/a> through the RIAA<\/a><\/strong> for \u201cmass infringement\u201d of copyright.<\/p>\n Two of the three majors, Universal Music Group<\/a><\/strong> and Warner Music Group<\/a><\/strong>, have since moved from litigation to licensing.<\/p>\n UMG<\/strong> agreed a settlement with Udio<\/strong> in October 2025<\/strong>, but remains in active litigation with Suno<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Warner<\/strong> reached its own settlement with Udio a month later. WMG<\/strong> then became the first major to settle with Suno<\/strong>, in a deal the companies called \u201cfirst-of-its-kind\u201d<\/a> that also saw Suno<\/strong> acquire the concert-discovery platform Songkick<\/strong> from Warner<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Sony Music<\/a><\/strong> remains in litigation against both Suno<\/strong> and Udio<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Suno<\/strong> is separately fighting to keep the terms of its Warner<\/strong> settlement away from UMG<\/strong> and Sony<\/a><\/strong>, which remain plaintiffs against the company.<\/p>\n Suno<\/strong> and Udio<\/strong> are not the only companies facing music-copyright claims.<\/p>\n Suno<\/strong> is the subject of a separate copyright lawsuit in Germany, filed by collecting society GEMA<\/a><\/strong> in January 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n
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