{"id":10928,"date":"2026-06-10T19:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/google-says-youtube-terms-of-service-allow-ai-music-training-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T19:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:25:14","slug":"google-says-youtube-terms-of-service-allow-ai-music-training-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/google-says-youtube-terms-of-service-allow-ai-music-training-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Says YouTube Terms of Service Allow AI Music Training: Lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tGoogle says in a new court filing that YouTube\u2019s terms of service grant a \u201cbroad license\u201d for artificial intelligence models to be trained on music uploaded directly to the platform.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis argument came in Google\u2019s Monday (June 8) motion to dismiss copyright infringement litigation filed earlier this year by a group of independent artists, songwriters and producers. The lawsuit claims that Lyria 3, the AI music model launched by Google in February, was trained on songs ripped from YouTube without compensating artists.<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe case is among dozens that have accused AI companies of illegally training their models on copyrighted sound, text and images in recent years. In most of these lawsuits \u2014 including ones brought by the major record labels against AI music generators Suno and Udio \u2014 tech companies have argued that the so-called fair use principle of copyright law allows them to create transformative works without licensing the training data.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Google case is different, though, because the tech giant owns YouTube, one of the biggest music streaming platforms in the world. Rather than making a fair use argument, Google\u2019s lawyers say in Monday\u2019s brief that they actually do <\/em>have a license to train AI with the songs uploaded to YouTube by these indie artists.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTheir lawsuit is based on the unsupported hypothesis that Google trained on their specific works,\u201d reads the motion, filed by powerhouse litigation firm Quinn Emanuel. \u201cEven accepting their untested allegations as fact, the complaint cannot stand. Plaintiffs each granted YouTube, and Google \u2014 which provides the service \u2014 a broad license to use the uploaded content. That license, present in YouTube\u2019s terms of service, authorized the conduct alleged in the complaint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecifically, the motion cites a clause in YouTube\u2019s terms of service that states, \u201cBy providing content to the service, you grant to YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use that content (including to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, display and perform it) in connection with the service and YouTube\u2019s (and its successors\u2019 and affiliates\u2019) business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tThese terms of service govern all individual users who upload music directly to YouTube \u2013 meaning, if Google\u2019s argument is accepted by the court, the company would be legally permitted to train AI models on and otherwise utilize that content for \u201cderivative works.\u201d However, the situation might be different for music distributed through YouTube pursuant to licensing agreements with labels and publishers.<\/p>\n

\n\tAll of the major music companies, as well as indie labels and publishers, have licensing deals with YouTube that govern copyright protection and royalty payouts. Whether AI training is permitted likely differs from license to license, depending on the grants around derivative works. Some companies have even added AI-specific language in recent years that sets forth rules for whether and how music on the platform can be used for Google\u2019s AI initiatives.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor example, during the investor earnings call for Universal Music Group (UMG) this past October, CEO Lucian Grainge <\/strong>said the company\u2019s renewed licensing deal with YouTube \u201csecured really important guardrails and protection for our artists and writers around Gen AI content.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGoogle has not explicitly disclosed what material was included in the Lyria 3 training dataset. In a statement to Billboard<\/em> when the model was rolled out, a Google representative said it was trained on music that Google has \u201ca right to use under our terms of service, partner agreements, and applicable law.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tA rep for Google declined on Tuesday (June 9) to comment beyond the court papers. The attorneys pursuing the Lyria 3 lawsuit did not immediately return a request for comment. They will file opposition papers fighting Google\u2019s motion to dismiss the case in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs a proposed class action, the lawsuit is aimed at eventually representing all indie artists who\u2019ve allegedly been harmed by Google\u2019s AI training. Its named plaintiffs are singer\/songwriter Sam Kogon, composer\/producer Magnus Fiennes, songwriter\/producer Michael Mell, R&B group Attack the Sound, father-and-son folk rock duo Stan Burjek and James Burjek, and the Chicago-based band Directrix.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis same group previously brought similar copyright lawsuits against AI music companies Suno, Udio and Mureka. The more closely watched front in the AI music copyright war, though, is litigation launched in 2024 by UMG, Warner Music Group (WMG) and Sony alleging Suno and Udio infringed their IP \u201cat an almost unimaginable scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUMG and WMG both settled with Udio in the fall, striking deals for the company to train a new model on licensed work that will remain within a \u201cwalled garden\u201d on the platform. WMG later settled with Suno as well, agreeing to a licensed training model that allows for off-platform distribution. UMG is still suing Suno, and Sony has not settled with either company.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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