#1 Music Industry Vs AI Tools
Copyrightย laws exist for a reason! AI-generated content should not come at the cost of ripping off the original creators.
Major record labels, including Universal, Sony, and Warner, are taking AI music generators Suno and Udio to court over alleged copyright infringement. The labels claim these companies used copyrighted songs without permission to train their AI models that create new music from text prompts. The lawsuit seeks up to $150,000 in damages per infringed work.
Both companies have raised significant funds recentlyโSuno secured $125 million with a $500 million valuation, and Udio is reportedly generating 864,000 music files daily.
If Suno and Udio get hit hard, it'll be a strong message to all the other AI companies using copyrighted material for model training.
Suno Complaint: https://lnkd.in/dHRjRB54
Udio Complaint: https://lnkd.in/dHPFWim3
US Copyright Law: https://lnkd.in/dFbfNkJk
Big News in ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ถ๐!
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ: Major record labels including Universal, Sony, and Warner sued AI music generators Suno and Udio in June 2024 for alleged copyright infringement, seeking up to $๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฌ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ per work infringed.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ: Suno and Udio have now filed their answers, strongly ๐ฝ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ against the claims. They argue their use of copyrighted music for AI training falls under "๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฒ" doctrine. The companies also claim their outputs are new creations, not reproductions of existing songs.
'๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐จ๐๐ฒ' ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐
๐: Fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. The copyright law establishes ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ that must be considered in deciding whether a use constitutes a fair use.
๐ญ. ๐ฃ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ:
โ Commercial use, โ Fair use likelihood
โ Transformative nature, โ Fair use likelihood
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฒ. While the AI companies argue their use is transformative, creating new music rather than reproducing existing works, the use is fundamentally commercial in nature. They are profiting from services built on copyrighted material.
๐ฎ. ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ:
โ Creativity of original work, โ Fair use likelihood
โ Factual nature of original work, โ Fair use likelihood
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฒ. Musical recordings are creative works at the core of copyright protection, rather than factual works which receive less protection.
๐ฏ. ๐๐บ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ ๐จ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ:
โ Quantity/importance of portion used, โ Fair use likelihood
โ Quantity/importance of portion used, โ Fair use likelihood
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐
๐ฒ๐ฑ. The AI companies used entire sound recordings, which typically weighs against fair use. However, they argue they only extracted statistical insights rather than storing the actual recordings, which could potentially favor fair use.
๐ฐ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐:
โ Negative impact on market, โ Fair use likelihood
โ Negative impact on market, โ Fair use likelihood
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ธ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฒ. The AI-generated music could directly compete with and potentially displace the market for the original copyrighted recordings. There's also potential harm to licensing markets for the copyrighted works.
Overall, based on traditional fair use analysis, at least 3 out of 4 factors seem to weigh against fair use. This case will be pivotal in determining how copyright law applies to AI training data. Courts evaluate fair use claims on a case-bycase basis, and the outcome of any given case depends on a fact-specific inquiry.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Is it truly "Fair" to say it is "Fair"?
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68878608/umg-recordings-inc-v-suno-inc/
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-what-transformative.html
Fair Use doctrine: https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107