A Munich court has delivered a landmark ruling that could reshape the relationship between artificial intelligence and creative copyright across Europe, finding that OpenAI's ChatGPT violated German copyright laws by using protected song lyrics to train its language models.
Court Rejects OpenAI's Defence
The Munich regional court sided with Germany's music rights society GEMA, which represents approximately 100,000 composers, lyricists and music publishers. The organisation filed the case against OpenAI in November 2024, arguing that the AI company had harvested protected lyrics from popular artists to train its language learning systems without permission.
OpenAI had argued that users should bear legal responsibility for the chatbot's output since it was generated by their prompts. However, the court firmly rejected this position, establishing that the company itself bears responsibility for how its AI models are trained.
Protected German Hits at Centre of Case
The lawsuit focused on nine of Germany's most recognisable pop songs from recent decades, which ChatGPT had used to refine its language capabilities. Among the tracks were Herbert Grönemeyer's 1984 synth-pop anthem Männer (Men) and Helene Fischer's Atemlos Durch die Nacht (Breathless Through the Night), which became the unofficial anthem for the German national team during the 2014 football World Cup.
The presiding judge ordered OpenAI to pay undisclosed damages for using this copyrighted material without obtaining proper authorisation. While the exact compensation amount remains confidential, the ruling sets a significant precedent for how AI companies must handle protected creative works.
Wider Implications for Creative Industries
GEMA legal adviser Kai Welp stated that the organisation now hopes to negotiate with OpenAI about establishing proper compensation mechanisms for rights holders. The music rights society hailed the decision as the first landmark AI ruling in Europe that could have far-reaching consequences for other types of creative output.
"The internet is not a self-service store and human creative achievements are not free templates," declared GEMA chief executive Tobias Holzmüller. "Today, we have set a precedent that protects and clarifies the rights of authors: even operators of AI tools such as ChatGPT must comply with copyright law."
Berlin law firm Raue, which represented GEMA, emphasised that the court's decision creates legal certainty for creators, music publishers and platforms across Europe while sending a clear message to the global technology industry about respecting copyright protections.
OpenAI's Response and Future Steps
OpenAI, whose founders include Sam Altman and Elon Musk, expressed disagreement with the ruling and confirmed it is considering an appeal. The San Francisco-based company had argued that its language learning models absorb entire training datasets rather than storing or copying specific songs.
In a statement, OpenAI noted that "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." The company added that it respects creators' rights and is engaged in productive conversations with numerous organisations worldwide about how they can benefit from AI technology.
The German Journalists' Association joined creative industry advocates in welcoming the ruling, describing it as a milestone victory for copyright law that establishes crucial protections for artistic works in the age of artificial intelligence.
