Elvis Presley’s rights holders and Eminem’s publisher are suing AI song maker Suno

Two new copyright lawsuits against AI music generator Suno name the group that owns the rights to Elvis Presley’s music and Eminem’s publisher, Eight Mile Style, as plaintiffs. The suits were filed separately and first reported by Variety, with Engadget following on Nov. 8. Both accuse Suno of producing songs that borrow from famous artists without a license.

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Lawyers for the plaintiffs said, in wording Engadget quoted in shortened form, that Suno’s conduct is meant to make human creativity obsolete by replicating it without a license in seconds. Suno answered that it does not allow any unauthorized use of an artist’s work.

Eight Mile Style and 269 compositions

According to Music Times, the Eight Mile Style complaint was filed on Friday, Nov. 6, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It covers 269 musical compositions the publisher says it owns or controls and alleges two kinds of copying: unauthorized duplication of works to train Suno’s system, and customers generating recordings from prompts. It also alleges circumvention of protection measures and the removal or alteration of copyright management information. One example in the filing claims a generated track reproduced the lyrics of “Lose Yourself” word for word. Eminem is not personally taking part in the case.

Hot New HipHop reported that the publisher is seeking $41 million, built from $150,000 per composition plus $672,000 for the alleged removal of copyright information, and listed “The Real Slim Shady,” “Lose Yourself” and “Stan” among the works. That figure is the amount requested, not an award. Music Times adds that the complaint cites 404 Media reporting on scraping from YouTube Music, Deezer and Genius.

The Presley complaint and Tennessee’s ELVIS Act

Engadget did not name the Presley rights holder or give court details. Music Times identifies the plaintiffs as Authentic Brands Group and Raleigh Music Publishing, and describes a 51-page complaint alleging copyright infringement and exploitation of Presley’s identity, including music that imitates his voice. The filing invokes Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, signed in March 2024. Engadget’s summary says Suno allegedly used Presley’s likeness to create AI-generated songs, including some that allegedly sound like him.

Neither report says when Suno must answer. Until the company files a response or a motion to dismiss, the public record consists of the plaintiffs’ lawyers’ characterization, the complaint details Music Times summarizes and Suno’s general description of its policies.

The same Presley rights group is already suing another AI developer. Engadget notes that it filed a separate suit against Anthropic claiming $41 million in damages for allegedly training models on Presley’s works without permission.

Taken from the descriptions, the two cases rest on overlapping theories. One is input copying, the claim that protected songs were used to train Suno’s models. Another is output similarity, the claim that customers can prompt the service into tracks that echo an artist’s lyrics or voice. The third is removal of copyright management information, which is where the $672,000 portion of the Eight Mile Style demand comes from. Jackson Chen’s Engadget report treats the Presley and Eminem suits as two separate actions that happen to land together.

Suno’s answer and the earlier label cases

Suno gave its response to Variety, as Engadget relays it: the company says it prohibits the use of specific artists’ names and songs, does not permit any unauthorized use of an artist’s work, and works with third-party companies to screen for potential misuse. Music Times quotes further language in which Suno says it exists to help people create new, original music, not to trade on anyone’s name or likeness, and that it is continuing to strengthen its protections. No named Suno spokesperson appears in either report, and Hot New HipHop traces the same statement to Billboard rather than Variety, so the exact outlet that first received it is unclear.

These are not the company’s first courtroom problems. Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group jointly sued earlier in 2026, arguing that Suno’s v6 models still infringe. The docket is UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Sony Music Entertainment against Suno in the District of Massachusetts, Case No. 1:24-cv-11611-FDS, and a first amended complaint is dated Aug. 25, 2026. Music Times also lists Round Hill Music among those still litigating.

Sequence matters here. Warner Music Group settled in 2025, Sony and UMG pressed on in 2026 with a complaint aimed at the newer v6 models, and the publisher and Presley suits arrived in early November as the third and fourth fronts. Each plaintiff group is pursuing its own remedy, from impoundment of unauthorized copies to a willful-infringement finding, which Music Times says Eight Mile Style requests.

Warner Music Group went the other way, dropping its suit last year in exchange for a licensing agreement. Whether the Presley and Eight Mile Style plaintiffs push for damages or a similar deal is unknown. Every claim above is an allegation, and the $41 million figure for the Eminem publisher is what it asks for rather than anything a court has found.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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