A federal judge has refused to throw out a copyright class action brought by ten independent musicians against Udio, the AI music generator operated by Uncharted Labs — but she has moved the case from Illinois to New York.

Judge Sara L. Ellis of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied Uncharted Labs' motion to dismiss the lawsuit on August 3, according to Music Business Worldwide. Ellis simultaneously granted Udio's alternative request: transfer the case to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The dismissal was denied without prejudice to refiling there.

The lawsuit was filed on October 15, 2025 by ten independent musicians and songwriters suing individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated — the standard structure of a class action, in which named plaintiffs represent a larger group with shared claims. Eight of the plaintiffs are based in Illinois, one in Georgia and one in California. They include David Woulard, who records as Davo Sounds; composer Magnus Fiennes; the band Attack the Sound; and songwriters Stan Burjek and James Burjek. The plaintiffs are represented by the law firm Loevy & Loevy.

Udio, a Delaware corporation, told the court its main operations are in New York and that it has no employees or operations in Illinois. The company had asked the court to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction — the legal principle that a court needs a sufficient connection to a defendant to hear a case — or, failing that, to transfer it to New York. The judge chose the second option.

The plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint, filed on January 7, 2026, brings 14 counts. Seven are for copyright infringement. Three fall under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the US law that criminalises production and dissemination of technology designed to circumvent copyright protection. The remaining counts cover Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act and Right of Publicity Act, a deceptive trade practices claim, and a claim of unjust enrichment.

The Udio case is not the only legal front for Uncharted Labs. A major-label suit, UMG Recordings, Inc. et al v. Uncharted Labs, Inc., is docketed in the Southern District of New York under case number 1:2024cv04777. In that case, the district court denied Udio's motion to dismiss a claim for circumvention of technological measures under the DMCA, according to Loeb & Loeb. An earlier class action, Justice v. Uncharted Labs, was filed in the same New York court in June 2025 by country musician Anthony Justice and two other plaintiffs; Udio has called that action substantially duplicative.

The AI music sector is facing legal pressure on multiple fronts. Rival AI music company Suno is defending a separate copyright infringement suit filed by UMG Recordings in June 2024. On July 31, a regional court in Munich ruled that Suno broke copyright rules by processing songs represented by Germany's state-mandated licensing organisation without authorisation, Reuters reported. And in October 2025, a judge denied OpenAI's motion to dismiss consolidated direct copyright infringement claims tied to ChatGPT's training data.

For the ten plaintiffs in the Udio class action, the ruling means their claims will now be heard in New York — in a district that is already handling two other lawsuits against the same company.