Music AI startups Suno and Udio have retained Latham & Watkins, the prestigious law firm representing OpenAI and Anthropic, to defend against lawsuits filed by major record labels Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group.

The lawsuits, filed in late June, allege that both AI companies unlawfully used copyrighted recordings to train their AI models, potentially flooding the market with AI-generated content that could compete with and devalue authentic recordings.

Leading the defense team are Andrew Gass, Steve Feldman, Sy Damle, Britt Lovejoy, and Nate Taylor from Latham & Watkins. The labels are represented by attorneys from Hueston Hennigan and Cloherty & Steinberg.

Latham & Watkins brings significant AI defense experience, having represented Anthropic against UMG and Concord Music, and currently defending OpenAI in multiple cases, including suits from Sarah Silverman and The New York Times.

The defense is expected to heavily rely on fair use doctrine, which traditionally permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission. AI companies argue this extends to their use of copyrighted works for training purposes, though this interpretation remains untested in court.

Recent investigations by Fairly Trained, an AI music safety nonprofit, have demonstrated that both Udio and Suno can generate music closely resembling copyrighted songs from artists like Jason Derulo, Jackson 5, and Mariah Carey, raising concerns about potential copyright infringement.

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