Elvis Presley Enterprises, which holds the singer's likeness rights, and other rights-holders sued the AI music service Suno on 6 November in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint says Suno's platform produced Presley's voice from lyrics alone, and it calls Suno's public claims about its safeguards false.
According to the complaint, Suno's model generated two outputs titled 'He Is Still The King' as recently as 7 October 2026. The only input was a set of lyrics that spell out Presley's name letter by letter, and each output contained a copy of his voice over a rockabilly-style track, the plaintiffs say.
Suno Says Its Rules Bar Prompts That Name Artists
In a statement released on 7 November, a Suno spokeswoman said the company exists to help people create new, original music and does not trade on anyone's name or likeness.
On safeguards, she said: 'we do not allow prompts for specific artists names and songs'. Suno also works with third-party providers to screen uploaded audio files and lyrics for potential misuse, she said.
Suno made the same case in a 3 November filing in a separate likeness lawsuit brought by musicians including Jason Isbell. The complaint describes that filing as saying the company has never allowed prompts for specific artists or copyrighted songs, and the plaintiffs call such statements 'unequivocally false'.
The spokeswoman's statement does not mention the October example. It refers to screening uploaded audio files and lyrics for potential misuse, but does not say whether a name spelled inside lyrics falls under the name rule.
Plaintiffs Accept a Name Filter Exists but Cite Other Routes
The complaint acknowledges that the platform refuses at least some names. It says a prompt containing Reba McEntire's name is rejected, while a style request using the misspelled surname McIntyre is accepted. The plaintiffs say such guardrails are easily circumvented.
The plaintiffs submitted exhibits containing nearly 50 recorded examples of what they say is Suno infringing Presley's likeness and copyrights. The complaint says those that use his voice are 'NOT examples of Elvis Presley singing', and that there are hundreds to thousands more like them. A spokeswoman for the plaintiffs said the complaint and its exhibits speak for themselves.
The complaint brings claims under Tennessee's ELVIS Act and the state's common-law right of publicity, along with copyright infringement, circumvention of copyright protection measures and removal of copyright management information.
In total, they say Suno infringed 859 works, counting songs controlled by a second group of plaintiffs. The plaintiffs seek an injunction, destruction of unauthorised copies, a record of Suno's training data and damages.
The ELVIS Act Extends Protection to Artists' Voices
The Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act, enacted in Tennessee in 2024, extends state protection against unauthorised use of a person's likeness to their voice. According to Billboard, it also imposes liability on companies that provide tools for such use, which makes the Presley case one of its first major tests.
The lyric-only example challenges Suno's account of its safeguards; whether the alleged outputs establish liability is a separate question. The plaintiffs seek to hold the company responsible for generating and distributing the disputed material, rather than bringing claims against individual users.
