Several court rulings on AI copyright cases haven’t gone the creative industries’ way in recent times, but today German collecting society GEMA has scored a victory in its lawsuit against OpenAI.
The Regional Court in Munich ruled that OpenAI violated copyright laws when using song lyrics to train its ChatGPT models, including committing copyright infringement when reproducing those lyrics in its outputs.
“The ChatGPT systems contain copies of the original works, which are reproduced and made available in response to simple prompts by users. Such reproductions amount to infringements of remunerable copyright, for which OpenAI must obtain a licence that provides the copyright holders with appropriate remuneration,” is how GEMA summarised the ruling in its announcement.
There could be plenty of implications from the ruling across Europe, although OpenAI could choose to appeal. For now, it’s GEMA’s executives who are enjoying the chance to fire some zingers in response to the court’s decision.
“The internet is not some kind of self-service buffet, and creative achievements by human beings are not simply templates for use free of charge,” said CEO Dr Tobias Holzmüller.
“Today, we have set a precedent that both protects and clarifies the rights of creative copyright holders: operators of AI tools such as ChatGPT must also comply with copyright law.”
“For the first time, today’s ruling clarifies key legal questions concerning the way new technology interacts with European copyright law. The verdict represents a milestone on the way to obtaining fair remuneration for authors and creators throughout Europe,” added general counsel Dr Kai Welp.
OpenAI hasn’t been silent following the ruling, mind.
“We disagree with the ruling and are considering next steps,” its spokesperson told Reuters. “The decision is for a limited set of lyrics and does not impact the millions of people, businesses and developers in Germany that use our technology every day.”
GEMA will be hoping that OpenAI chooses to license rather than appeal. The collecting society set out its ideas for how AI-music licensing deals should work in September 2024.
That was more about AI companies training their models on music, whereas today’s decision is about a chatbot being trained on lyrics.
Even so, GEMA will hope it sets a precedent that can apply to other cases – for example its copyright infringement lawsuit against GenAI music firm Suno, which it filed in January this year. GEMA says a hearing is expected to take place on that case on 26 January 2026.
