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AI copyright news, graded by source

Court rulings, company filings and allegations in the copyright cases against AI companies and pirate libraries, over books, articles, music, images, video and code. Checked for new filings every three hours; items are posted after review, so some appear later. Get these by e-mail · Court filings, free to read

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Court rulingApril 15, 2026Sony Music Entertainment v. Uncharted Labs, Inc. (Udio) · S.D.N.Y., No. 1:24-cv-04777-AKH (Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein)

Judge Hellerstein refuses to dismiss the record labels' DMCA claim that Udio circumvented YouTube's rolling cipher to stream-rip training audio

On April 15, 2026 Judge Hellerstein denied Udio's motion to dismiss the third cause of action in the labels' amended complaint, which alleges that Udio used the YT-DLP tool to bypass YouTube's rolling-cipher encryption and download sound recordings for training, in violation of 17 U.S.C. 1201(a). Udio argued the cipher is a copy control, whose circumvention the statute does not prohibit, rather than an access control. The court explained that Section 1201(a)(1) bars circumventing access controls but not copy controls, and that a measure may serve as both. It held that, accepting the complaint's allegations, the labels plausibly pleaded that YouTube uses technological measures regulating access to its content and that Udio circumvented them, but that whether the measures are access controls within the statute 'requires a greater factual record,' so Udio may renew the argument later. The court noted that the Second Circuit appeal in Yout v. RIAA raises related questions and said it would apply current law. The order was issued after UMG and Warner had settled and left the case.

Order and Opinion Denying Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. 156 (RECAP) ↗

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What the labels mean

Every item says what kind of source it rests on. A court ruling or order is the court's own statement. A company filing is what a defendant says about itself. A government filing is a statement by a government agency that is not a party to the case, such as a statement of interest; it is the government's position, not a ruling. An allegation is what a complaint or motion claims and has not been decided. Reported means press reporting we have not confirmed from the primary document. Summaries are our own; follow the links for the source.

This page is general information, not legal advice. An allegation is not a finding. Whether any of this matters for a particular work or claim is a question for a lawyer.