Overview
- Germany’s GEMA won its case over nine songs, including works linked to Herbert Grönemeyer and Helene Fischer, after alleging ChatGPT reproduced protected lyrics.
- The Munich I Regional Court’s 42nd Civil Chamber ordered OpenAI to pay damages, stop reproducing the lyrics, and disclose training-related information.
- Judges found GPT-4 and GPT-4o contained reproducible lyrics and rejected defenses that the models do not store specific data or that users are solely responsible for outputs.
- OpenAI said it disagrees with the decision and is considering an appeal, calling the ruling limited in scope and asserting it does not affect everyday use in Germany.
- Rights groups and the plaintiffs’ lawyers described the ruling as a potential European precedent that could drive licensing talks and greater transparency on training data.