Artificial intelligence music startup Udio is attempting to secure dismissal of a copyright lawsuit filed by independent musicians in Illinois, arguing the court lacks jurisdiction over the New York-based company.
Uncharted Labs, which operates Udio, filed a motion on Friday (February 6), asking a federal judge to throw out claims brought by Chicago-area artists, including indie R&B group Attack the Sound and songwriting duo Stan and James Burjek.
The company argues, in this latest court document, that it has no employees or operations in Illinois and shouldn’t be forced to defend itself there.
The lawsuit, filed in October 2025, alleges Udio trained their models on copyrighted recordings without authorization. The 100-page lawsuit, which you can read here, accused Udio of using “stream-ripping” to download copyrighted material from YouTube, bypassing the platform’s anti-piracy protections. The plaintiffs also filed a similar lawsuit against Udio rival Suno.
In Udio’s latest motion, the company claims the Illinois court has no personal jurisdiction over the Delaware-incorporated company headquartered in New York.
It also invoked the first-to-file doctrine, pointing to an earlier lawsuit filed by country musician Tony Justice in New York that involves similar claims.
Additionally, Udio requests the case be transferred to New York for convenience, citing witness and evidence locations.
The plaintiffs include David Woulard, who performs as Davo Sounds and is a Chicago firefighter, along with members of the Chicago band Directrix and other independent artists. Their complaint alleges Udio violated multiple laws including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, and the Illinois Right of Publicity Act.
In the amended complaint filed on January 7, the plaintiffs argued that the Illinois court “has specific personal jurisdiction” over Udio “because Udio has deliberately and continuously exploited the Illinois market and has purposefully directed suit-related conduct into Illinois and this District.”
The complaint also alleges that Udio routes Illinois users to servers in Chicago through its content delivery network and processes subscription payments from Illinois residents, “and thereby engages in recurring transactions with customers in this District.”
Udio countered the amended complaint, urging the court to dismiss it entirely “for lack of personal jurisdiction over Udio.” The company says it already faces “substantially duplicative claims” filed by Justice in New York.
The motion comes as Udio has begun working with the music industry on licensing agreements after facing lawsuits from major record labels.
It reached settlements with Universal Music Group in October and with Warner Music Group in November. Both major music companies had sued Udio for copyright infringement but dropped their lawsuits after reaching licensing agreements for an AI music platform Udio plans to launch this year.
Most recently in January, Udio partnered with independent music licensing group Merlin to license recordings for training AI models. The agreement allows Udio to develop AI systems using music from Merlin members who choose to participate, with compensation flowing back to those labels and artists.
Udio recently posted a job listing for a Head of Artist Partnerships based in Los Angeles or New York to manage relationships with artists, managers, and labels.
According to the listing, the role will focus on expanding participation in Udio’s Artist Platform and will involve working with what the company called “top-tier artists and industry leaders.” The hire will “define and lead how artists engage with Udio at a pivotal moment in the company’s growth,” the posting said.
Udio is backed by investors including a16z, Redpoint, Hanwha, will.i.am, Steve Stoute, Kevin Wall and more.
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