Denmark’s Koda Sues Suno for Copyright ‘Theft’ in Landmark AI Music Case
AI music platform Suno is back in the spotlight — and not in a good way. Denmark’s music rights group Koda has officially filed a major lawsuit, accusing Suno of using copyrighted songs without permission to train its AI and generate new outputs.
Koda submitted the case to the Copenhagen City Court, and because of the huge implications, they’ve already asked for the case to be referred to a higher court. The core question is the same one being debated around the world: Can AI companies legally use copyrighted music to train their models without getting permission first?
Original reporting from Digital Music News source.
⚖️ What Koda Says Suno Did Wrong
Koda claims Suno violated two major parts of Denmark’s Copyright Act:- Copying protected music without permission (during AI training)
- Making music available to the public through AI-generated outputs
They also added two more concerns:
- Market dilution – AI-made music could reduce demand for real artists’ work
- Stream ripping – making copies of songs and reusing them inside the AI system
And Koda says this isn’t vague theory: They claim to have direct evidence.
🎵 Songs Koda Claims Were Used Without Permission
Koda says Suno’s AI generated outputs that clearly resembled several well-known Danish hits, including:- “Barbie Girl” by Aqua
- “Final Song” by MØ
- “A Beautiful Life” by Christopher
- “Sleeping My Day Away” by D.A.D.
Koda argues these outputs prove Suno trained on these tracks without consent.
🗣️ Koda’s CEO: “Innovation Can’t Be Built on Stolen Goods”
Koda’s CEO Gorm Arildsen says they support responsible AI, but not AI built on other people’s hard work:“We are excited about what responsible AI can do for music. But innovation can’t be built on stolen goods. Suno has taken our members’ creative work… without consent, transparency or remuneration. That is theft – and it threatens the future of music.”
🌍 The AI Music Landscape Is Shifting Fast
The timing of this lawsuit is striking. Suno is reportedly trying to close a $100 million funding round at a massive $2 billion valuation. At the same time: Universal Music and Udio just ended their legal fight and are teaming up on a new streaming service. Suno’s rival Udio is partnering with major labels. And new AI tools and music models are being released every few months. The entire AI music world is changing incredibly fast, and these lawsuits show the industry is still figuring out where the line is:- Is training on copyrighted songs “fair use”?
- Or is it misuse of artists’ work?
- At what point does AI output become too similar to the original?
Right now, there is no universal rule, and every country is testing its own approach.
Suno’s case in Denmark could become a major turning point in defining what is allowed — and what isn’t — when AI learns from human-created music.
