Labels hit back as Udio ducks blame
Major record companies rejected arguments from the artificial intelligence platform Udio that sought dismissal of claims the company illegally downloaded YouTube videos to train its software. Labels from Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group filed court papers on Friday stating Udio misunderstood federal copyright law by treating access restrictions as absolute barriers. The companies amended their lawsuit in September to add allegations about unauthorized video collection from YouTube.
Udio attorneys argued on October 10 that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits circumventing access barriers but permits downloading publicly available material. Record label lawyers countered that this interpretation ignores nuances in the statute regarding protected content. The labels simultaneously pursue similar litigation against competitor Suno over alleged mass copyright violations and unauthorized music scraping from video platforms.
