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Munich Court Rules OpenAI Violated Copyright by Training ChatGPT on Song Lyrics

The non-final ruling imposes injunctions, damages plus disclosure to tee up an appeal that could clarify licensing duties for generative AI in Europe.

Overview

  • Landgericht München I largely sided with GEMA, finding that ChatGPT memorized and reproduced nine specified song texts in violation of German copyright law.
  • The court ordered OpenAI to stop storing and outputting those lyrics, to pay damages, and to disclose information on use and related revenues.
  • Judges deemed near-verbatim outputs evidence of memorization and rejected defenses based on probabilistic synthesis or user responsibility for prompts.
  • OpenAI said it disagrees with the decision and is considering further steps, with appeals and a potential referral to the European Court of Justice anticipated.
  • Observers say the case could reshape licensing expectations for AI training across music, journalism, literature, photography and other creative sectors.