GEMA v. OpenAI (Munich Regional Court I)
Landgericht München I · 11 November 2025
A German court ruled that when ChatGPT memorises and reproduces song lyrics, OpenAI infringes copyright, and ordered it to stop and pay. It is the first major European win for rights holders against an AI developer, and is under appeal.
What it calls for
- Creator compensation
- Data rights
- Liability
Scope
German music collecting society (GEMA) v. OpenAI over memorised song lyrics
What actually happened
The court found that memorisation of lyrics in model weights and their reproduction in outputs infringed copyright and was not covered by the EU text-and-data-mining exception; it ordered cessation, disclosure of use and revenues, and damages. OpenAI said it would appeal (https://www.twobirds.com/en/insights/2025/landmark-ruling-of-the-munich-regional-court-(gema-v-openai)-on-copyright-and-ai-training). The same court later ruled against Suno on similar grounds. Contrast with the UK Getty v. Stability AI judgment (2025-11-04), which rejected the claim that model weights are infringing copies (https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/getty-images-v-stability-ai/).