SOCAN, the Canadian performing rights organization representing songwriters, composers, and publishers, filed suit against Suno on Sept. 2, alleging the platform streams and makes available AI outputs that replicate songs in SOCAN's repertoire without authorization or compensation. The statement of claim cites a sample of 150 outputs, including versions closely matching Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway," Avril Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi," K. Maro's "Femme Like U," Alexisonfire's "Passing Out in America," and Daniel Balavoine's "S.O.S. d'un terrien en détresse."
SOCAN says Suno has never held a license or paid it royalties, and frames the case around what it calls the ART principles — Authorization, Remuneration, Transparency — asking a Canadian court for damages and an order to stop further infringement. Notably, SOCAN is publishing side-by-side audio comparisons on its own site rather than keeping the evidence to the court filing, a choice clearly built to make the "these outputs replace the original" argument legible outside a courtroom.
It's the latest rights-holder action against Suno following Warner's and other majors' settlements, and puts Canada on the growing list of jurisdictions testing the platform's training and output practices directly in court.