Elvis Presley Suno AI Lawsuit: Enterprises Allege Likeness Infringement

• Elvis Presley Enterprises and other rights holders have filed a lawsuit against AI music generator Suno.
• The plaintiffs allege unauthorized use of Presley's name, image, likeness, and copyrighted works for AI training and content generation.
• The complaint cites violations of Tennessee's ELVIS Act, which protects an individual's voice, and claims direct copyright infringement of 859 combined works.
• Plaintiffs provided nearly 50 examples of Suno outputs mimicking Presley's voice and infringing copyrights, refuting Suno's prior statements.
• The lawsuit seeks an injunction, destruction of unauthorized data, a record of training data, and damages for the plaintiff groups.

This case underscores the escalating legal challenges faced by AI developers concerning intellectual property rights, particularly regarding the unauthorized use of copyrighted material and individual likenesses.

Elvis Presley Enterprises, leading a coalition of rights holders, has initiated legal action against the artificial intelligence music generator Suno. The plaintiffs, comprising companies and individuals who possess exclusive control over Elvis Presley’s name, image, likeness (NIL), and copyrights, allege that Suno has unlawfully utilized these protected assets.

The core of the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, asserts that Suno trained its AI models on copyrighted materials without authorization. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the platform enables users to generate songs that distinctly mimic Presley’s unique vocal style, all without obtaining the necessary permissions from the rightful parties.

A central component of the plaintiffs' argument is the alleged violation of Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (ELVIS) Act. This state law, which expanded protections against the unauthorized use of an individual's likeness to specifically include their voice, is cited as a critical safeguard against the type of infringement claimed in this case. The plaintiffs contend that Suno's actions underscore the essential need for such legislation, asserting that the AI company has effectively appropriated the entirety of Elvis's identity—encompassing his humanity, history, despair, and triumph—to store on its servers and exploit for substantial financial gain, without contributing to its creation or maintenance.

Beyond the ELVIS Act, the complaint also includes accusations of direct copyright infringement, which the plaintiffs describe as occurring on an unprecedented scale. Additional claims involve violations of Tennessee’s common law right of publicity, circumvention of copyright protection measures, and the removal or alteration of copyright management information, highlighting a multifaceted legal challenge against the AI platform.

The plaintiffs specifically accuse Suno of acting intentionally, maliciously, and fraudulently to benefit financially and to unfairly compete with Elvis Presley’s established likeness and copyrights. They directly challenge previous statements made by Suno, which claimed the platform does not "reprise specific melodies from songs someone else wrote" and "has never allowed prompts for specific artists or copyrighted songs."

To substantiate their claims, the plaintiffs have provided nearly 50 recorded examples within their exhibits, which they assert demonstrate Suno's direct infringement on both Presley’s likeness and their copyrights. These outputs, they argue, contain a voice "readily identifiable" as and solely "attributable to" Elvis Presley, despite Suno's denials regarding the existence of such content.

In addition to the Presley rights holders, a second group of plaintiffs, known as the Raleigh plaintiffs, also joined the lawsuit. This group holds exclusive rights to hundreds of other songs, including Chubby Checker’s 1955 hit “Let’s Twist Again,” and provided three further examples of Suno directly infringing on their copyrights. Collectively, the plaintiff groups allege that Suno infringed upon a total of 859 combined works, emphasizing that no authorization was ever granted for Suno to copy, reproduce, or use these intellectual properties for AI training or any other purpose.

The plaintiffs are seeking comprehensive relief from the court, including an injunction that would prohibit Suno from any further infringement of the works. They also request an order compelling Suno to destroy all unauthorized copies, including those integrated into its data sets, and to provide a complete record of its training data. Furthermore, the lawsuit demands damages for both the Elvis and Raleigh plaintiff groups.

This case underscores the escalating legal challenges faced by AI developers concerning intellectual property rights, particularly regarding the unauthorized use of copyrighted material and individual likenesses. A representative for the plaintiffs, Lark-Marie Antón, stated that the complaint and its accompanying exhibits are self-explanatory, reiterating that the name, image, likeness, and music of Elvis Presley represent some of the world's most valuable intellectual property assets, which are vigorously protected.

This lawsuit highlights the increasing legal risks for AI developers and users regarding intellectual property infringement, particularly concerning copyright and the right of publicity. Lawyers should advise clients on the critical need for robust licensing and authorization protocols when training AI models on existing creative works or generating content that mimics identifiable individuals, especially in light of evolving state laws like Tennessee's ELVIS Act.

Source: Original reporting via Associated Press and Courthouse News.