Overview
- The regional court in Munich found ChatGPT was trained on protected content from nine German songs, including Herbert Groenemeyer's "Maenner" and "Bochum."
- Presiding judge Elke Schwager prohibited unlicensed use of lyrics and ordered OpenAI to pay damages, with the amount undisclosed.
- The court concluded that memorisation within the models and reproduction of lyrics in outputs violate copyright exploitation rights.
- OpenAI said GEMA misunderstood how ChatGPT works, described the ruling as limited to a small set of lyrics, and said it is considering next steps including an appeal.
- GEMA, which represents about 100,000 members, said the outcome supports talks on a licensing framework that could shape how generative AI is regulated in Europe.