Suno is doubling down on its effort to narrow a major copyright lawsuit filed by country artist Tony Justice and several other creators. A case that could influence how US courts treat AI training on copyrighted music.
In a new reply memorandum filed on November 21, the AI-music startup defended its earlier request to dismiss several claims from the lawsuit. Justice’s legal team had opposed that dismissal earlier in November.
The case is one of multiple copyright battles Suno is currently fighting, including lawsuits brought by major record labels. Across these cases, Suno is accused of copyright infringement and alleged violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) tied to claims that the company “stream-ripped” music from YouTube during model training.
The YouTube Encryption Debate: Access Control vs. Copy Control
Similar to arguments appearing in the labels’ lawsuit against Suno, Justice’s complaint alleges that Suno circumvented YouTube’s “rolling cipher” encryption system a mechanism that regularly alters access codes to prevent downloading of videos or audio.
Suno’s latest filing draws a sharp line between access and copy controls under the DMCA.
According to Suno:
YouTube’s cipher restricts downloading, not access.
Users can still freely stream content without passwords or decryption tools.
Suno argues that because Section 1201(a) of the DMCA only prohibits the circumvention of access controls, bypassing a copy control is not illegal.
The filing compares YouTube streaming to DVD encryption:
- DVD encryption: blocks access completely unless proper hardware is used.
- YouTube cipher: doesn’t block users from watching or listening. It only prevents downloading.
Suno says Congress intentionally separated the two categories because copy controls can be easily mischaracterized and that the rolling cipher falls squarely under “copy control.”
Suno Says Artists Haven’t Identified Any Infringing Outputs
Justice’s lawsuit claims Suno created derivative works by allegedly using the artists’ copyrighted songs to generate similar outputs.
Suno’s response: show the evidence.
The company argues the plaintiffs have not identified a single Suno-generated output that resembles the eight songs referenced in the complaint.
From Suno’s reply:
“Without identifying any works that allegedly infringe… Plaintiffs’ claim cannot move past the pleading stage.”
Suno adds that the Suno platform is publicly available, and the artists have had continuous access to check for allegedly infringing material, yet have failed to present concrete examples,
Justice’s team also suggested Suno gained market advantages by training its models on copyrighted works.
Suno argues this claim should not proceed because:
- The amended complaint doesn’t properly allege “passing off,” which is required under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.
- The Copyright Act preempts any such unfair competition theory when it simply reframes a copying allegation without additional elements.
Another Lawsuit Emerges as Suno Faces Growing Pressure
Separately, Suno recently filed a motion to dismiss a different lawsuit brought by several artists, including indie R&B band Attack the Sound, father-son duo Stan & James Burjek, and Chicago group Directrix.
That case claims Suno, along with peer platform Udio trained on copyrighted recordings without permission.
- Udio has already settled its lawsuit with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
- Suno, however, still faces active litigation from all three major labels: Universal, Sony, and Warner.
Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl recently reiterated the industry’s stance: the majors plan to “legislate, litigate, license” AI-generated content. Suno will be watching closely.
Importantly, Suno still does not have licensing agreements with any of the major music companies.
Despite Legal Turmoil, Suno Raises $250 Million
Even as lawsuits stack up, investor confidence in AI music remains strong.
Last week, Suno closed a $250 million Series C round at a $2.45 billion valuation.
The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from:
- NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm)
- Hallwood Media
- Lightspeed
- Matrix Partners
Menlo Ventures, known for backing major companies like Roku and early Hotmail, has recently shifted focus toward AI, including notable investments in Anthropic.
Suno is aggressively pushing to reshape how US courts view AI training on copyrighted audio. The outcome of these cases will influence:
- future licensing negotiations,
- how AI music platforms train models,
- and how copyright law adapts to generative systems.
The stakes are high: Suno is growing rapidly, attracting investors, but remains locked in a legal gridlock with some of the world’s largest rightsholders.
