Overview
- Munich District Court I held that both memorization within ChatGPT’s models and the chatbot’s reproduction of lyrics violate German authors’ rights.
- The lawsuit by music rights society GEMA covered nine songs, including hits by Herbert Grönemeyer, under Germany’s Urheberrecht framework.
- Presiding judge Elke Schwager ordered OpenAI to pay damages with the amount undisclosed, and the ruling can be appealed.
- OpenAI said it disagrees with the verdict, is considering next steps, and described the decision as limited to a specific set of lyrics.
- GEMA, its counsel, and the German Journalists’ Association called the ruling a precedent that could spur licensing negotiations and shape parallel cases across Europe.