In the first federal lawsuit against foreign-owned AI music generators, independent artists allege multiple violations of U.S. and Illinois laws.
CHICAGO — This week, a group of Illinois-based independent musicians and songwriters filed a lawsuit in federal court against two foreign companies for copyright infringement and unjust practices. The lawsuit, Attack the Sound, et al v. Kunlun, et al, alleges that Mureka—an AI music generation platform owned and operated by Kunlun Tech. Co., Ltd of China and Skywork AI Pte. Ltd of Singapore—is powered through the copying and storage of original works in violation of multiple U.S. and Illinois state laws.
The plaintiffs—who also seek class certification to represent other artists whose works may be similarly compromised—are asking a federal jury to rule on injunctive relief and damages related to the unlawful business practices of Kunlun and Skywork.
Mureka advertises itself as “the ultimate AI song generator,” through which “anyone can craft complete lyrics and beautiful melodies” with “no music theory required.” In reality, however, according to the complaint, Mureka operates off a centralized library of sound recordings and musical works, copied without permission from online sources, which are used to train its model and generate music. The interface even allows users—without seeking permission or providing compensation—to upload copies of any song they want as “reference tracks” for the music or lyrics they want to imitate.
As a result, the complaint argues, Mureka—which boasts over 10 million users worldwide—directly competes with the artists themselves, in the very markets where those creators make their livings, “as a cheaper substitute for human creativity.”
The plaintiffs are all independent musicians and songwriters who “have invested time, talent, and money to create original music, only to see Defendants appropriate and weaponize that work against them.” The complaint argues that independent artists—without the protections and bargaining power of major labels—are particularly vulnerable to, and harmed by, this sort of systemic infringement on their copyrights.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Ross Kimbarovsky, Jon Loevy, Michael Kanovitz, Matthew Topic, and Aaron Tucek of the civil rights law firm of Loevy + Loevy. In October, Loevy + Loevy filed similar lawsuits against AI music companies Suno and Udio, for allegedly training their models on the works of independent musicians and songwriters without permission or pay.
This week’s lawsuit, however, is believed to be the first such lawsuit to target AI music generators owned by foreign entities, and could represent a landmark case in protecting the worldwide rights of American creators.
“This case is the latest in a series of lawsuits aiming to protect the rights of independent musicians in the age of artificial intelligence, and the first to tackle the issue against actors overseas,” says Nathan Kurson of Loevy + Loevy. “As the internet becomes increasingly dominated by AI-generated music, it’s vital that we preserve the creative freedom of the millions of singers and songwriters who carry on the legacy of humanity’s oldest tradition.”
In addition to violating U.S. copyright laws—which give creators exclusive rights to control how their works are reproduced and distributed—the complaint accuses Kunlun and Skywork of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits stripping copyright protections from digital works, and the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which protects individual biometric markers, including voiceprints.
“No technological breakthrough, no matter how sophisticated, can legally or ethically justify widespread infringement or the systemic violation of creators’ rights,” the lawsuit contends. “Ultimately, this action tests whether the deployment of large-scale AI music systems can coexist with the fundamental protections that make human creativity possible.”
###
For a copy of the complaint in this case, click here.
For more information about Loevy’s AI Music lawsuits, go here.
Contact:
Ross Kimbarovsky, Attorney, 847.275.9004, ross@loevy.com
Michael McDunnah, Dir. Of Comms, 312.371.5871, mcdunnah@loevy.com