Rights

There’s now a collecting society just for AI-generated music

May 4, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

For now, most established collecting societies are not representing GenAI-music creators, amid concerns over the training models of the platforms that they use – and also questions about whether their work even qualifies for copyright protection. A new organization called Aimpro is hoping to fill the gap, pitching itself as “the first PRO designed to serve creators of generative AI works, allowing AI music creators to collect royalties for their work on a global basis”.

Source: There’s now a collecting society just for AI-generated music

Sony Music v. Udio Legal Battle Heats Up; AI Music Generator Admits Obtaining from YouTube

May 4, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

Udio is doubling down on its longstanding fair use arguments and defending its training-related ingestion of audio data from YouTube. “Udio admits that it obtained audio data from YouTube for use as training data,” the text reads, proceeding to elaborate that Udio “acquired some of its training data by utilizing YT-DLP,” which is reportedly a stream-ripping platform. With that, the stream-ripping sub-dispute is out in the open – with serious implications for the lengthy list of complaints against AI developers.

Source: Sony Music v. Udio Legal Battle Heats Up; AI Music Generator Admits to Obtaining Data from YouTube

YouTube creators hit by music copyright claims can now replace tracks with AI

May 4, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

The feature is currently limited to US desktop users of YouTube Studio. A global launch and rollout to Studio mobile are planned for later this year. Rather than having to remove or re-edit videos that have triggered copyright claims, creators will now have the option to swap out the offending audio for an AI-generated, royalty-free alternative — keeping the video live and potentially restoring its ability to be monetized.

Source: YouTube creators hit by music copyright claims can now replace tracks with AI

Primary Wave raises $2.2 billion for fourth music fund

April 29, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

Primary Wave Music IP Fund 4 is the fourth consecutive oversubscribed fund from Primary Wave, which says the vehicle is the “largest dedicated closed-end music royalties fund raised to date in the industry”. The fund was backed by a global investor base spanning insurance companies, pension funds, endowments, and large family offices, according to a press release, which also noted that Primary Wave is a strategic partner of financial giant Brookfield Asset Management.

Source: Primary Wave raises $2.2 billion for fourth music fund

Filmmakers Drop Piracy Liability Lawsuit Against ISP RCN

April 28, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

A group of independent film companies has dropped its long-running piracy liability lawsuit against U.S. Internet provider RCN. The joint stipulation, filed in a New Jersey federal court, follows the Cox Supreme Court ruling. In addition to dropping a multi-million-dollar damages claim, the requested U.S. pirate site blocking injunction is also off the table.

Source: Filmmakers Drop Piracy Liability Lawsuit Against ISP RCN

Brazil’s Competition Watchdog Opens Google Probe Over Publisher Pay

April 28, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

Brazil’s competition watchdog, Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE), unanimously decided Thursday to open a formal investigation into Google’s use of news content, including in its AI Overviews, without compensation to publishers. The investigation will consider whether Google’s scraping of journalistic content to feature in the ‘News’ tab and to produce AI Overviews is an anti-competitive practice and whether outlets that decide to opt-out are being penalized with less visibility.

Source: Brazil’s Competition Watchdog Opens Google Probe Over Publisher Pay

Australia to tax Meta if it doesn’t pay news publishers

April 28, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

The Australian government has announced plans for a levy on tech giants designed to incentivise them to do commercial deals with publishers. The News Bargaining Incentive (NBI) would require large search and social media services to pay 2.25% on their Australian revenue. This money would be “distributed back to the news media sector”, the government said, to “support the employment and critical work of journalists”.

Source: Australia to tax Meta if it doesn’t pay news publishers

Google Uses Cox Ruling to Kill Last Copyright Claim in Textbook Piracy Lawsuit

April 27, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

Google is trying to put an end to the copyright liability claim in its textbook piracy battle with several academic publishers. In a motion for partial judgment filed in a New York federal court, Google argues that the recent Supreme Court ruling in Cox v. Sony has effectively killed the copyright liability arguments. That is, unless the publishers can prove Google specifically “induced” infringement or built a service “tailored” exclusively for piracy.

Source: Google Uses Cox Ruling to Kill Last Copyright Claim in Textbook Piracy Lawsuit

Indie label group Futures Music raises $6m as it sets sights on catalog deals

April 27, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

Futures Music Group, the independent label group founded in 2024 by Neon Gold’s Derek Davies and Avenue A’s Dave Wallace, has raised $6 million in seed funding from a group of music industry investors in the US and UK. Commenting on the investment, Blackburn said: “From an artist perspective, what matters most is having partners with great relationships and smart technology, who also understand the creative and don’t force a rigid system onto it.

Source: Indie label group Futures Music raises $6m as it sets sights on catalog deals

How will the major labels overcome the copyright threat from AI music? AI itself.

April 27, 2026By rightstech0 Comments

In five years, the major music companies will not only be scouring the web for AI infringement, they will also be issuing legal letters directly to the perpetrators… using AI. Sound far-fetched? It isn’t. It’s sitting inside a pair of patent applications published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 12, 2026. What the filings describe is a sprawling end-to-end “media rights platform” that sits between rightsholders, generative AI systems, and the end users who want to prompt AI.

Source: How will the major labels overcome the copyright threat from AI music? AI itself.