Elvis' estate sues Suno over AI voice cloning, plus BTS and Dua Lipa legal news

The music world's courtrooms were busy this week, and the biggest case involves the King himself. Here are seven stories worth knowing.

1. Elvis' owners sue Suno over his voice

Elvis Presley Enterprises, which owns Presley's intellectual property, sued Suno, a leading AI music company. The lawsuit says users can clone his "unmistakable and iconic" singing voice and that his identity "was stolen and is stored on servers."

2. This case is different from the earlier ones

Two weeks earlier, the same side sued Anthropic over lyrics. Most cases against Suno are about copyrighted material used to train AI. This one cites likeness rights: state-level protections for a person's name, image and voice. It also cites Tennessee's ELVIS Act, signed in 2024 to protect voices from unauthorised AI cloning.

3. Suno is fighting a similar case

Days before the Elvis filing, Suno asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit by Jason Isbell and other artists. It makes similar name-and-likeness claims.

4. A lawsuit over BTS' "Swim" is dropped

The accusers withdrew their case against HYBE, BTS's agency, less than four months after filing it. They had claimed the chart-topping song "Swim" copied an earlier track.

5. JYP goes after a pirated recording

JYP Entertainment, the Korean company behind Stray Kids, sued a small DIY music distributor. It accuses the distributor of uploading a pirated recording of Han's solo music.

6. Robbie Williams defends Olivia Rodrigo

Some fans said Olivia Rodrigo's holiday song "Take Me Home (4 Christmas)" sounds like Williams' "Candy." He defended her, and reportedly said he wouldn't go after her. He has called such debates "pure money-making."

7. Dua Lipa settles over "Levitating"

She reached a settlement ending a copyright case over the megahit. It fully resolves years of litigation.

From AI voices to pop hits, the courts are now deciding who owns a sound.