Published: September 2, 2026 · 10:03 PM EDT
The Canadian music rights organization cites “Sk8er Boi,” “Both Sides Now,” “Life Is a Highway” and Alexisonfire material in a Federal Court lawsuit challenging AI-generated music outputs
SOCAN has filed a copyright lawsuit against generative AI music company Suno, alleging that publicly available songs created through the platform reproduce copyrighted works represented by the Canadian music rights organization without permission or compensation.
Filed in the Federal Court of Canada on September 2, 2026, the case identifies a sample of 150 publicly available Suno outputs that SOCAN alleges contain all or substantial portions of songs in its repertoire.
Among the music cited are works associated with some of Canada's best-known artists and songwriters, including Avril Lavigne's “Sk8er Boi,” Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now,” Tom Cochrane's “Life Is a Highway” and Alexisonfire's “Passing Out in America.” The allegations have not been proven in court.
Alongside the lawsuit, SOCAN has taken the unusual step of creating a public webpage where listeners can compare original compositions with examples of the Suno-generated material cited by the organization.
Its published examples include “Life Is a Highway,” “Sk8er Boi,” Alexisonfire's “Passing Out in America,” K.Maro's “Femme Like U” and Daniel Balavoine's “S.O.S. d'un terrien en détresse.”
SOCAN says the 150 outputs listed in its court filing represent only a sample of what it believes to be broader unauthorized activity on the platform.
One example highlighted in the court claim involves Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now.” Music Business Worldwide reports that SOCAN alleges a Suno user supplied the lyrics and received an output that was “virtually identical” in melody, harmony and lyrics.
In another example involving “Sk8er Boi,” SOCAN alleges that a Suno output closely followed Lavigne's song while replacing portions of its lyrics with Korean equivalents.
The Canadian case has an important distinction from some of the other lawsuits already surrounding generative AI music.
SOCAN is focusing heavily on the outputs generated and streamed through Suno and the organization's performing rights in the underlying compositions. Its position is that by making allegedly infringing outputs available and streaming them to users in Canada and elsewhere, Suno infringed rights controlled by SOCAN.
Andrea Kokonis, SOCAN's chief legal officer and general counsel, told Billboard Canada that Suno launched in Canada in December 2023 without first seeking SOCAN's consent and that subsequent discussions did not produce an agreement.
SOCAN's stated position is not that songwriters should reject artificial intelligence altogether, but that creators should authorize and receive compensation when their work is used. According to Music Business Worldwide's review of the 42-page court claim, the 150 cited outputs involve 137 SOCAN-represented songs.
SOCAN is seeking damages and profits allegedly connected with infringement. As an alternative, it seeks statutory damages of up to C$20,000 per infringed work, which across the 137 cited songs could total approximately C$2.74 million. The organization is additionally seeking C$10 million in punitive and exemplary damages over what it alleges was knowing infringement. Those amounts are claims being requested from the court, not damages that have been awarded.
The Canadian filing arrives during a particularly intense period of legal scrutiny for Suno. Just one day earlier, Jason Isbell, David Lowery, Guy Forsyth and Eduardo Calle filed a proposed class action against the company in Massachusetts. That case takes a different approach: instead of copyright claims, the musicians accuse Suno of exploiting artist identities and enabling users to generate music associated with specific performers.
Suno has denied wrongdoing in that separate U.S. action, saying its tools are intended to enable original music creation.
SOCAN's lawsuit also follows cases brought by music rights organizations in Europe, including GEMA in Germany and Koda in Denmark. A German court ruled in GEMA's favor at first instance in July 2026, while that dispute could still be appealed.
For SOCAN, however, the Canadian case comes down to a relatively traditional copyright question applied to a very new technology: if an AI-generated song reproduces protected music closely enough, do the existing rights and obligations surrounding that music still apply?
The Federal Court will now be asked to answer that question as one of the music industry's most consequential battles over generative AI continues to expand.
Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist
Watch Avril Lavigne's official “Sk8er Boi” video below:
