# Sony and UMG sue Suno over copyright in v6 models

> Record labels claim the AI music generator found a loophole to train on unlicensed music despite licensing deals.
- Title: Sony and UMG sue Suno over copyright in v6 models · Engadget
- Summary: Record labels claim the AI music generator found a loophole to train on unlicensed music despite licensing deals. Even when AI companies license some…
- Keywords: sony music, universal music group, suno, ai music generation, copyright infringement, v6 models, lawsuit, music licensing, warner music group, fair use, ai training data, technology
- Source: Engadget — https://engadget.com/2262978/sony-music-and-umg-say-sunos-new-models-still-violates-their-copyright
- Author: Ian Carlos Campbell
- Published: 2026-09-18T21:06:27+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: sony music, universal music group, suno, ai music generation, copyright infringement, v6 models, lawsuit, music licensing, warner music group, fair use, ai training data, technology
## Sony and UMG file new lawsuit
Sony Music and Universal Music Group are suing Suno, claiming its newest v6 AI models violate copyright despite the company signing licensing deals with Warner Music Group and BMG.
## The core accusation
Sony and UMG argue Suno trained v6 on unlicensed recordings by using "user interactions" with the service, which they say means outputs from earlier models built by copying their songs without permission.
## Potential damages are massive
The labels claim Suno infringed on at least 60,202 sound recordings, making it liable for up to 9 billion dollars in damages plus 2,500 dollars per instance of circumventing YouTube's anti-downloading technology.
## Suno denies the claims
Suno says the accusations are "fundamentally flawed" and reaffirms that v6 was trained on licensed content, community interactions, and internal learnings. The company says it wants AI and music to strengthen each other.

> Suno exists so that more people can make new music.
## Prior evidence of scraping
A July 2026 hack revealed Suno scraped millions of songs from YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius to train earlier models. The company previously justified this as fair use, but ended support for those older models.
## The licensing strategy may not be enough
By releasing v6 with licensed material, Suno signaled it thinks licensed training is more defensible. But if courts accept the labels' interpretation of how v6 was built, licensing alone won't protect the company.
## Key takeaway

Even when AI companies license some training data, regulators and rights holders remain skeptical about how models are actually built.