Separate federal complaints challenge alleged use of protected songs and artist identity by the AI music service; the claims have not been decided in court
Thunder Bay – National News Service – Rights holders connected to Elvis Presley’s music and identity, along with publishers that control hundreds of Eminem compositions, have filed separate federal lawsuits against AI music generator Suno.
Both complaints were filed November 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and drew wider attention over the weekend. The Presley-side case was brought by Elvis Presley Enterprises, ABG EPE IP, Raleigh Music Publishing and other rights holders. The second was filed by Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated. Eminem is not personally listed as a plaintiff.
The publishers allege that Suno used protected material without permission in training and output. The Presley complaint also raises claims involving the singer’s voice and likeness under Tennessee’s ELVIS Act. These are allegations in civil complaints, not findings by a judge or jury.
Eight Mile Style’s docket describes a copyright case and identifies exhibits covering its works and alleged Suno output. Reporting based on the complaints says the publisher identifies 269 compositions and seeks statutory copyright damages that could reach $40.35 million. The Presley plaintiffs seek up to $128.85 million in copyright damages, with other requested remedies on top of that amount.
The Presley-side plaintiffs also ask the court to order an accounting of relevant training data and to impound or destroy alleged unauthorized copies, including material they say may be present in model weights. That request pushes the dispute beyond individual songs and toward the architecture of a trained music model.
Suno has said its purpose is to help people make original music, not trade on an artist’s name or likeness, and that it uses safeguards for prompts and uploaded material. It has not yet filed a formal response in either of these two cases.
The lawsuits arrive while the AI music market is splitting into litigation and licensing tracks. Suno has partnerships with several music companies, while other rights holders continue to test where copyright, voice rights and generative tools meet.
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