Foley Represents SoundPatrol in Launch of AI-Enabled Anti-Piracy Research Lab to Protect Music for Artists and Labels

Foley & Lardner LLP represented AI startup SoundPatrol in the formation and financing of its music technology and AI-enabled anti-piracy research lab.

SoundPatrol is a research lab co-founded by Stanford University School of Medicine CERC Adjunct professor Walter De Brouwer, Ph.D., and Michael Ovitz. The lab works on large music models, novel formats for neural, embedded music, and neural fingerprinting. Where audio hashes excel at fast lookups of known recordings, neural embeddings capture semantic relationships — identifying covers, remixes, and generative-AI derivatives — while continuously learning from new releases. Neural fingerprinting moves beyond fixed perceptual hashes to a dynamic, context-aware model that adapts to evolving infringement tactics and distinguishes human from machine creations.

The company also recently signed Universal Music Group and Sony Music as partners.

The Foley team was led by partners Louis Lehot and André Thiollier and included partner Nicholas O’Keefe and associates Wesley Choi and Rachel Horewitz.